Body weight issues amongst UiTM staff: contribution of physical activity, diet, smoking and sleep

Overweight and obesity are weight issues which is one of the most common problems faced by many people including Malaysians. Obesity is the accumulation of too much fat in the body which causes harm to health and life. In Malaysia, the study on the weight issues among adults especially among educated people is very limited. Therefore, this study is done to evaluate the incidence of body weight issues in Malaysia, specifically among the staff of a few faculty in UiTM Selangor, Kampus Puncak Alam. This study was aimed to determine incidence of body weight issues amongst staffs and to determine whether smoking habits, lack of physical activity, diet and sleep patterns affect body weight. This is a cross-sectional study because it covers a selected sample of population.An adapted questionnaire was distributed to 130 staff from Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Science and Faculty of Business Management, UiTM Puncak Alam. The staff were asked to fill in the questionnaire by themselves. It was a self-administered written questionnaire in English and Malay. Then, their Body Mass Index (BMI), visceral fat and Waist to Hip Ratio (WHR) were measured using body fat analyzer. Majority 38.5% (n=50) of the respondents, which are staff from the Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Science and Faculty of Business Management have normal BMI and the least number 2.3% (n=3 ) of respondents is underweight. The majority (55.8 %) of respondents have normal level of visceral fat (1-9), and least (21.7%) of respondents have high level of visceral fat (10-14). In conclusion, physical activity, diet, smoking and sleep was not associate with the body weight issue such as overweight and obesity.