Bidang Kajian : Kanak-kanak
Pelajar/Pengkaji Oleh: Cik Normadiah Bt Said
Alamat Emel: madiah88@gmail.com
Tarikh: 17/07/2025
Abstrak Kajian
Introduction: Childhood obesity is an escalating global public health issue, including in Malaysia, with significant implications for the long-term health and development of children. Parental involvement, particularly in feeding practices, plays a crucial role in preventing childhood obesity. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out to identify parental factors linked to body weight status among children under 5. A multistage simple random sampling method was employed. The study included 213 mother-child pairs from registered TASKA centers in the southern region of Sarawak. Information on sociodemographic profiles, anthropometric measurements, parental feeding practices, and co-parenting feeding practices was collected through self-administered questionnaires. The children’s body weight status was determined using WHO ANTHRO Plus software. The indicator of weight status assessed was body mass index (BMI)-for-age (BAZ) z-scores. Data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS. Results: The mean scores for feeding practices among mothers while feeding their children indicated that most mothers practised encouraging balance and variety (4.16 ± 0.62), monitoring (3.93 ± 0.93), and maintaining a healthy environment (3.85 ± 0.66). However, practices such as restriction for health (2.26 ± 1.01) and restriction for weight control (2.35 ± 0.88) were less common. In terms of coparenting feeding practices, the mean scores revealed that parents generally shared positive views and values in child feeding (4.51 ± 0.59), while solo parenting in feeding practices scored lower (3.76 ± 0.98). The prevalence of children at risk for overweight and obesity was (21.6% and 8.5% respectively). Multivariate logistic regression indicated that certain parental feeding practices, such as applying pressure to eat, and teaching about nutrition were associated with a lower risk of overweight and obesity among children under 5 in the southern region of Sarawak. Conclusion: Parental and coparenting feeding practices play a crucial role in fostering healthy eating habits and behaviors among children under 5, which in turn reduces the likelihood of overweight and obesity both at their current age and later in adolescence and adulthood.
Keywords: Children under 5, obesity, feeding practices, Sarawak