Association of Nutritional Status and Bone Health Among Schoolchildren in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Chan, Keh En (2020) Association of Nutritional Status and Bone Health Among Schoolchildren in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

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Abstract

There are limited studies on the association of nutritional status and bone health among schoolchildren in Malaysia. The study was conducted to investigate the association of nutritional status and bone health among schoolchildren in Kuala Lumpur. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 417 students aged 9-12 years, three primary schools were randomly selected in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Anthropometric profiles and bone density were measured. Majorities of respondent fall in the normal weight category. There were significant association between gender and anthropometric measurements such as percentage of body and visceral fat (p<0.001). Females have relative higher percentage of body fat and visceral fat than males. Bone health was significantly associated with BMI z-score (p<0.001, r=0.181), percentage of body fat (p=0.001, r=0.168), visceral fat (p<0.001, r=0.213), and waist circumference (p<0.001, r=0.016). In conclusion, percentage of fat and visceral fat are associated with genders. Females have higher percentage of fat and visceral fat than males due to hormonal changes and genetic differences. Other than that, results showed there are significant positive association between percentage of fat, visceral fat, BMI z-score and waist circumference with bone health among schoolchildren in Kuala Lumpur.