The Effectiveness of Meal Replacement in Weight Management to Adulthood between Age 20-54 in Selangor & Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Choy, Yean Ming (2022) The Effectiveness of Meal Replacement in Weight Management to Adulthood between Age 20-54 in Selangor & Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

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Abstract

Background: Body weight is controlled and regulated by several mechanisms while diet is the most important factor. Meal replacement (MR) is an effective strategy for weight management due to its convenience and lower calories. This study is conducted among the age range of 20-54 years old adults in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor; to determine the effectiveness of MR in weight management, the market of meal replacement in Malaysia and the association between effectiveness of MR with eating behaviours and health beliefs. Method: Convenience sampling method was implemented. 385 of subjects were selected randomly to respond to a set of questionnaire which consists of 5 sections: Basic information, Adult Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (AEBQ) , consumption of MR, MR-related health beliefs, and body weight goal. Results: Cronbach's Alpha ranged from 0.8 to 0.9 were obtained for the questionnaires involving scoring scales. There are 3 brands of MR that had a higher repeated frequency, were Nutrilite, Herbalife and USANA. For AEBQ, 2 sections that were analysed there was a significant difference between MR users and non-MR users : Hunger (p=0.046) and Satiety Responsiveness (p=0.003). Associations were established for weight changes with related variables: whether they are MR users or non-Mr users (p=0.094), consumption frequency of MR (p=0.196) and consumption duration of MR (p=0.185). There’s no significant difference in terms of consumption frequency and consumption duration among MR users (n=105) with weight changes (p=0.278 , p=0.686) respectively by Pearson Correlation analysis. Conclusion: MR users hold stronger beliefs concerning the compensatory properties compared with non-MR users. MR users will lose and maintain their body weight regardless of the consumption frequency or duration of meal replacement.