Dietary Intake among Adolescents in a Middle-Income Country: An Outcome from the Malaysian Health and Adolescents Longitudinal Research Team Study (the MyHeARTs Study)

Optimal nutrition is essential for healthy growth during adolescence. This study aims to investigate the baseline nutritional intake of Malaysian adolescents by gender, body mass index, and places of residence, both urban and rural. A cohort study was conducted consisting of 794 adolescents (aged 13-years) attending 15 public secondary schools from the Central (Kuala Lumpur and Selangor) and Northern (Perak) Regions of Peninsular Malaysia. Qualified dietitians conducted a 7-day historical assessment of habitual food intakes. Facilitated by flipcharts and household measurement tools, detailed information on portion sizes and meal contents were recorded. Nutritionist Pro (TM) Diet Analysis software was also used to analyze the dietary records. The mean age of the adolescents was 12.86 +/- 0.33 y; the mean energy intake was 1659.0 +/- 329.6 kcal/d. Males had significantly (P <.001) higher energy intake than females (1774.0 +/- 369.8 vs 1595.2 +/- 320.6 kcal/d); adolescents in rural schools consumed more energy and cholesterol (P <.001) compared to adolescents in urban schools (1706.1 +/- 377.7 kcal/d and 244.1 +/- 100.2 mg/d, respectively). Obese adolescents in rural schools consumed more energy and sugar (1987.6 +/- 374.0 kcal/d and 48.9 +/- 23.0 g/d) (p-value < 0.001). The dietary intake of normal weight versus obese adolescents differs by the location of their school. Thus, the implementation of a structured and tailored intervention is recommended to help minimize this nutritional inequality.