Association of Sociodemographic Characteristics, Physical Activity Level, Health Status, and Chrononutrition Characteristics with Nutritional Status Among Female Administrative Staff of District Health Offices in Perak, Malaysia
Abstract
This study aimed to determine the sociodemographic, physical activity, health status, and chrononutrition factors associated with weight status among female administrative staff of district health offices. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 186 female administrative staff, selected using a cluster random sampling method. Weight and height were objectively measured and participants completed a self-administered online questionnaire comprising three sections: sociodemographic information, the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ-M), and the Chrononutrition Profile Questionnaire (Malay-CPQ). Based on international classifications, 39.8% of participants were overweight and 31.2% were obese. Most participants were aged 40–49 years (41.9%), of Malay ethnicity (91.4%), married (78.5%), had at least post-secondary education (47.8%), reported an individual income between RM2,000 /USD220 and RM4,000/USD440 (82.3%). Self-reported health conditions indicated that 10.8% had diabetes, 16.1% had hypertension, and 14.0% had hypercholesterolemia. The majority of participants reported low physical activity (57.0%), and nearly half (47.8%) spent more than eight hours daily sitting or reclining. In this study, 18.9% of participants exhibited eating misalignment, while 17.7% experienced sleep misalignment. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that individuals with hypertension were more likely to be overweight or obese (OR=4.33, 95% CI: 1.22–15.39, p=0.023). Similarly, having the last meal between 20:01 and 21:00 was significantly associated with a higher likelihood of overweight or obesity (OR=4.04, 95% CI: 1.39–11.70, p=0.010). In contrast, Malay ethnicity was associated with a lower likelihood of overweight or obesity (OR=0.09, 95% CI: 0.12–0.75, p=0.026). The prevalence of overweight and obesity among administrative staff in this study exceeded the national average. These findings highlight the need for workplace interventions that not only promote physical activity to reduce sedentary behaviour but also incorporate chrononutrition considerations into existing workplace health policies and programmes.
Full text article
References
Abu Saad H, Low PK, Jamaluddin R, Chee HP. 2020. Level of physical activity and its associated factors among primary healthcare workers in Perak, Malaysia. International Int J Environ Res Public Health 17(16):5947. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17165947 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17165947
Bailey DP. 2021. Sedentary behaviour in the workplace: Prevalence, health implications and interventions. Br Med Bull 137(1):42–50. https://doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldaa039 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldaa039
Bradbury KE, Guo W, Cairns BJ, Armstrong ME, Key TJ . 2017. Association between physical activity and body fat percentage, with adjustment for BMI: A large cross-sectional analysis of UK Biobank. BMJ Open 7(3):e011843. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011843 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011843
Chan CMH, Siau CS, Wong JE, Wee LH, Jamil NA, Hoe VCW. 2021. Prevalence of insufficient sleep and its associated factors among working adults in Malaysia. Nat Sci Sleep 1109–1116. https://doi.org/10.2147/NSS.S295537 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2147/NSS.S295537
Chong CT, Lai WK, Mohd Sallehuddin S, Ganapathy SS. 2023. Prevalence of overweight and its associated factors among Malaysian adults: Findings from a nationally representative survey. Plos One 18(8):e0283270. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283270 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283270
Crispim CA, Rinaldi AE, Azeredo CM, Skene DJ, Moreno CR. 2024. Is time of eating associated with BMI and obesity? A population-based study. Eur J Nutr 63(2):527–537. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-023-03282-x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-023-03282-x
da Cunha NB, Teixeira GP, Rinaldi AEM, Azeredo CM, Crispim CA 2023. Late meal intake is associated with abdominal obesity and metabolic disorders: A chrononutrition approach using NHANES 2015–2018. Clin Nutr 42(9):1798–1805. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2023.08.005 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2023.08.005
Dote-Montero M, Acosta FM, Sanchez-Delgado G, Merchan-Ramirez E, Amaro-Gahete FJ, Labayen I, Ruiz JR. 2023. Association of meal timing with body composition and cardiometabolic risk factors in young adults. Eur J Nutr 62(5):2303–2315. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-023-03141-9 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-023-03141-9
Hairudin KF, Teng NIMF, Juliana N. 2023. Adaptation and validation of the Malay-Chrononutrition Profile Questionnaire to assess chrononutrition behavior of young adults in Malaysia. Curr Dev Nutr 7(1):100009. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2022.100009 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2022.100009
[IPH] Institute for Public Health. 2020. National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2019: Vol. I: NCDs – Non-Communicable Diseases: Risk Factors and other Health Problems. Shah Alam (KL): Ministry of Health Malaysia.
[IPH] Institute for Public Health. 2023. National Health and Morbidity Survey 2023: Summary Findings. Shah Alam (KL): Ministry of Health Malaysia.
Irniza R, Emilia ZA, SI SN, Suwankhong D. 2022. Workplace sedentary behaviour and work-related quality of life among office workers. Malays J Med Health Sci 18.
Jakubowicz D, Barnea M, Wainstein J, Froy O. 2013. High caloric intake at breakfast vs. dinner differentially influences weight loss of overweight and obese women. Obesity 21(12):2504–2512. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.20460 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.20460
Jakubowicz D, Wainstein J, Landau Z, Raz I, Ahren B, Chapnik N, Ganz T, Menaged M, Barnea M, Bar-Dayan Y, Froy O. 2017. Influences of breakfast on block gene expression and postprandial glycemia in healthy individuals and individuals with diabetes: A randomized clinical trial. Diabetes Care 40(11):1573–1579. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc16-2753 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2337/dc16-2753
Jamil NA, Shahudin NN, Abdul Aziz NS, Jia Qi C, Wan Aminuddin WAA, Mat Ludin AF, Chin KY, Abd Manaf Z, Mat Daud N. 2019. Knowledge, attitude and practice related to vitamin D and its relationship with vitamin D status among Malay female office workers. Int J Environ Res Public Health 16(23):4732. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16234735 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16234735
Jiang SZ, Lu W, Zong XF, Ruan HY, Liu Y. 2016. 2020. Obesity and hypertension. Exp Ther Med 20(3):2391–2395. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2016.3667 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2016.3667
Juliana N, Teng NIMF, Hairudin KF, Wan Abdul Fatah WA, Das S. 2023. Chrononutrition behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic and its relationship with body weight among college students. Front Nutr 10:1079069. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2023.1185154 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2023.1079069
Kaur S, Ng CM, Tang SY, Kok EY. 2023. Weight status of working adults: The effects of eating misalignment, chronotype, and eating jetlag during mandatory confinement. Chronobiol Int 40(4):406–415. https://doi.org/10.1080/07420528.2023.2186120 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07420528.2023.2186120
Kit LP, Saad HA, Jamaluddin R, Phing CH. 2020. Prevalence of overweight and obesity among primary healthcare workers in Perak, Malaysia. IIUM Med J Malaysia 19(1). https://doi.org/10.31436/imjm.v19i1.1327 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31436/imjm.v19i1.1327
Longo-Silva G, Serenini, R, Pedrosa A, Lima M, Soares L, Melo J, Menezes R. 2025. Chrononutrition patterns and their association with body weight: Differences across multiple chronotypes. Endocrinología, Diabetes y Nutrición, 72(1):4–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.endinu.2024.07.006 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.endinu.2024.07.006
Lopez-Minguez J, Gómez-Abellán P, Garaulet M. 2019. Timing of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Effects on obesity and metabolic risk. Nutr 11(11):2624. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11112624 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11112624
Ma X, Chen Q, Pu Y, Guo M, Jiang Z, Huang W, Long Y, Xu Y, Li Z, Xu H. 2020. Skipping breakfast is associated with overweight and obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Obes Res Clin Pract 14(1):1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orcp.2019.12.002 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orcp.2019.12.002
Mognard E, Sanubari TPE, Alem Y, Yuen JL, Ragavan NA, Ismail MN, Poulain JP. 2023. Breakfast practices in Malaysia, nutrient intake and diet quality. Nutr 15(9):2197. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15092197 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15092197
Nik-Nasir NM, Md-Yasin M, Ariffin F, Mat-Nasir N, Miskan M, Abu-Bakar N, Yusoff K. 2022. Physical activity in Malaysia: Are we doing enough? Int J Environ Res Public Health 19(24):16888. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192416888 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192416888
Nishimura K, Tamari Y, Nose Y, Yamaguchi H, Onodera S, Nagasaki K. 2023. Effects of irregular mealtimes on social and eating jet lags among Japanese college students. Nutr 15(9):2128. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15092128 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15092128
Okada C, Imano H, Muraki I, Yamada K, Iso H. 2019. The association of having a late dinner or bedtime snack and skipping breakfast with overweight in Japanese women. J Obes 2019(1):2439571. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/2439571 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/2439571
Silveira EA, Mendonça CR, Delpino FM, Souza GVE, de Souza Rosa LP, de Oliveira C, Noll M. 2022. Sedentary behavior and obesity in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Nutr ESPEN 50:63–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnesp.2022.06.001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnesp.2022.06.001
Suhaimi SA, Müller AM, Hafiz E, Khoo S. 2021. Occupational sitting time, its determinants and intervention strategies in Malaysian office workers: A mixed-methods study. Health Promot Int 37(2):daab149. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daab149 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daab149
Tahara Y, Qian J, Oike H, Escobar C. 2023. Editorial: The present and future of chrono-nutrition studies. Front Nutr 10:1183320. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2023.1183320 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2023.1183320
Tang R, Wang J, Zhang W, Fu W, Zhuo L, Yang J, Wang Q, Yang K. 2023.Eating window and eating habits of adults in China: A cross-sectional study. Heliyon 9(6). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17233 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17233
Taylor BJ, Matthews KA, Hasler BP, Roecklein KA, Kline CE, Buysse DJ, Kravitz HM, Tiani AG, Harlow SD, Hall MH. 2016. Bedtime variability and metabolic health in midlife women: The SWAN Sleep Study. Sleep 39(2):457–465. https://doi.org/10.5665/sleep.5464 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5665/sleep.5464
[WHO] World Health Organization. 2023. WHO acceleration plan to stop obesity. Geneva (CH): World Health Organization.
Yoshida J, Eguchi E, Nagaoka K, Ito T, Ogino K. 2018. Association of night eating habits with metabolic syndrome and its components: A longitudinal study. BMC Public Health 18(1):1366. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-6262-3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-6262-3
Zhang Y, Abdin E, Sambasivam R, Shafie S, Roystonn K, Vaingankar JA, Chong SA, Subramaniam M. 2024. Changes in body mass index and its association with socio-demographic characteristics between 2010 and 2016 in Singapore. Front Public Health 12:1374806. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1374806 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1374806
Zhou Q, Zhang M, Hu D. 2019. Dose-response association between sleep duration and obesity risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Sleep and Breath 23(4):1035–1045. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-019-01824-4 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-019-01824-4
Authors
Copyright (c) 2026 Jurnal Gizi dan Pangan
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The copyrights of manuscripts shall be assigned/transferred to Jurnal Gizi dan Pangan (Indonesian Journal of Nutrition and Food).
Article Details
How to Cite
