MJM, Vol 70 Supplement 1 September 2015
Change in nutrient intake after a decade: Comparing
Malaysian Adult Nutritional Survey, 2003 and 2014
Institute for Public Health, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Unhealthy diet and sedentary behaviours have been identified as the primary cause attributable to obesity. Evaluating the trends of dietary intake is an important step in understanding the diet factor that contributes to the increase in obesity.
Objective: This study was carried out to determine the trend of energy and macronutrient intake from year 2003 to 2014 among Malaysian adults.
Method: The nationally representative data was taken from Malaysian Adult Nutritional Survey (MANS) 2003 and 2014, which are cross-sectional population surveys conducted nationwide. A multistage random sampling with proportional allocation was used for this survey. A total 6886 (MANS 2003) and 2981 (MANS 2014) Malaysian adults aged between 18 to 59 years participated in these surveys. Information on dietary intake was collected based on 24 hours diet recall interview and Nutritionist Pro was used for energy and nutrient analysis. The trend of energy and macronutrient intake was carried out based on gender using descriptive analysis.
Results: The median Malaysian energy intake has reduced from 1540 kcal (±771 kcal) in 2003 to 1465 kcal (±776 kcal) in year 2014. For macronutrient intake, the carbohydrate consumed also decreased from 220.76 kcal to 195.04 kcal. However, both protein and fat intake show increasing trends from 55.3 kcal to 56.67 kcal and 45.53 kcal to 46.43 kcal respectively. The male energy intake has dropped from 1722 kcal to 1464 kcal after one decade. This is in contrary with females, where the energy intake shows an upward trend from 1400 kcal to 1437 kcal.
Conclusion: After a decade, the overall Malaysian energy intake has decreased despite a marginal increase among the female population.
Keywords: Energy intake, Nutrient Intake, Malaysian Adult Nutritional Survey
