Obesity and Habitual Physical Activity Level among Staffs Working in a Military Hospital in Malacca, Malaysia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31436/imjm.v12i1.2003Keywords:
Obesity, physical activity, body mass index, hospital staffs, military hospitalsAbstract
Introduction: Obesity has been recognized as a major public health concern due to lack of physical activity and a sedentary
lifestyle. Methods: This cross sectional study was carried out to determine the status of body mass index (BMI) and habitual
physical activity level among staffs working in Military Hospital, Malacca using Habitual Physical Activity Questionnaire
(HPAQ). Results: About 120 HPAQ were distributed and only 82 responded with 23(28%) of them males and 59 (72%) females,
aged between 21 to 59 (40.52 ± 9.38) years old. Anthropometry analysis showed the mean weight of male respondents was
79.48 (± 16.33) and 70.95 (± 15.66) for the females. Body mass index (BMI) for males (33.61 ± 2.82) was almost similar to
females ( 33.20± 2.95).The mean waist circumference of men was 93.26 (± 10.94)cm compared to 94.03 (± 11.98)cm in the
females. Following categorization of BMI, 59% (n=48) are in the obese group, 24% (n=20) are overweight and only 17% (n=14)
have an ideal body weight or normal BMI. Relationship between BMI and HPAQ demonstrated strong and significant correlation
coefficient for habitual physical activity at work (r = 0.775, p < 0.001), sports (r = 0.735, p < 0.05) and leisure ( r = 0.713, p
< 0.001). Conclusion: The staffs working in the Hospital demonstrated poor habitual physical activity which explains for the
high incidence of obesity among the staffs. This requires measures to be taken to promote a healthier lifestyle among them.
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