Food security and diet quality among urban poor adolescents in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES This study aimed to examine the food security status of urban poor adolescents and its association with diet quality. SUBJECTS/METHODS A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 188 adolescents aged 13–18 yrs living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Household food insecurity an...
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| Format: | Article |
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The Korean Nutrition Society and the Korean Society of Community Nutrition
2023
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| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/108041/ |
| _version_ | 1848865057210892288 |
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| author | Ee, Janice Fang Tay Kaur, Satvinder Wui, Wui Tham Wan, Ying Gan Che Ya, Nik Norasma Choon, Hui Tan En, Serene Hui Tung |
| author_facet | Ee, Janice Fang Tay Kaur, Satvinder Wui, Wui Tham Wan, Ying Gan Che Ya, Nik Norasma Choon, Hui Tan En, Serene Hui Tung |
| author_sort | Ee, Janice Fang Tay |
| building | UPM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES
This study aimed to examine the food security status of urban poor adolescents and its association with diet quality.
SUBJECTS/METHODS
A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 188 adolescents aged 13–18 yrs living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Household food insecurity and dietary intake data were collected using the Radimer/Cornell hunger and food insecurity instrument and 2-day 24-h dietary recalls, respectively. Diet quality was determined using the Malaysian Healthy Eating Index (HEI). Weight and height were measured and body mass index-for-age, as well as height-for-age z scores were calculated.
RESULTS
The present study revealed that 47.9% of the adolescents experienced household food insecurity, 24.5% experienced individual food insecurity, 18.6% household food security, and 9.0% child hunger. The mean score of diet quality was 56.83 ± 10.09, with a significantly lower HEI score among food insecure adolescents (household food insecure, individual food insecure, and child hunger) than household food secure adolescents (P = 0.001). The differences between food secure and food insecure households were found to be significant for energy (P = 0.001) and nutrients including proteins (P = 0.006), carbohydrates (P = 0.005), dietary fiber (P = 0.001), folate (P < 0.001), and vitamin C (P = 0.006). The multiple linear regression showed that adolescents who experienced food insecurity (β = −0.328; P = 0.003) were found to be significantly associated with poor diet quality (F = 2.726; P < 0.01), wherein 13.3% of the variation in the diet quality was explained by the food security status.
CONCLUSIONS
Experiencing food insecurity contributed to poor diet quality among urban poor adolescents. Further longitudinal studies are needed to comprehensively understand this association to improve food insecurity and diet quality among urban poor communities. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T13:58:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | upm-108041 |
| institution | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T13:58:39Z |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publisher | The Korean Nutrition Society and the Korean Society of Community Nutrition |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | upm-1080412024-09-26T04:12:01Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/108041/ Food security and diet quality among urban poor adolescents in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Ee, Janice Fang Tay Kaur, Satvinder Wui, Wui Tham Wan, Ying Gan Che Ya, Nik Norasma Choon, Hui Tan En, Serene Hui Tung BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES This study aimed to examine the food security status of urban poor adolescents and its association with diet quality. SUBJECTS/METHODS A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 188 adolescents aged 13–18 yrs living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Household food insecurity and dietary intake data were collected using the Radimer/Cornell hunger and food insecurity instrument and 2-day 24-h dietary recalls, respectively. Diet quality was determined using the Malaysian Healthy Eating Index (HEI). Weight and height were measured and body mass index-for-age, as well as height-for-age z scores were calculated. RESULTS The present study revealed that 47.9% of the adolescents experienced household food insecurity, 24.5% experienced individual food insecurity, 18.6% household food security, and 9.0% child hunger. The mean score of diet quality was 56.83 ± 10.09, with a significantly lower HEI score among food insecure adolescents (household food insecure, individual food insecure, and child hunger) than household food secure adolescents (P = 0.001). The differences between food secure and food insecure households were found to be significant for energy (P = 0.001) and nutrients including proteins (P = 0.006), carbohydrates (P = 0.005), dietary fiber (P = 0.001), folate (P < 0.001), and vitamin C (P = 0.006). The multiple linear regression showed that adolescents who experienced food insecurity (β = −0.328; P = 0.003) were found to be significantly associated with poor diet quality (F = 2.726; P < 0.01), wherein 13.3% of the variation in the diet quality was explained by the food security status. CONCLUSIONS Experiencing food insecurity contributed to poor diet quality among urban poor adolescents. Further longitudinal studies are needed to comprehensively understand this association to improve food insecurity and diet quality among urban poor communities. The Korean Nutrition Society and the Korean Society of Community Nutrition 2023 Article PeerReviewed Ee, Janice Fang Tay and Kaur, Satvinder and Wui, Wui Tham and Wan, Ying Gan and Che Ya, Nik Norasma and Choon, Hui Tan and En, Serene Hui Tung (2023) Food security and diet quality among urban poor adolescents in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Nutrition Research and Practice, 17 (2). 269 - 283. ISSN 1976-1457; ESSN: 2005-6168 https://e-nrp.org/DOIx.php?id=10.4162/nrp.2023.17.2.269 10.4162/nrp.2023.17.2.269 |
| spellingShingle | Ee, Janice Fang Tay Kaur, Satvinder Wui, Wui Tham Wan, Ying Gan Che Ya, Nik Norasma Choon, Hui Tan En, Serene Hui Tung Food security and diet quality among urban poor adolescents in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| title | Food security and diet quality among urban poor adolescents in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| title_full | Food security and diet quality among urban poor adolescents in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| title_fullStr | Food security and diet quality among urban poor adolescents in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Food security and diet quality among urban poor adolescents in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| title_short | Food security and diet quality among urban poor adolescents in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| title_sort | food security and diet quality among urban poor adolescents in kuala lumpur, malaysia |
| url | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/108041/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/108041/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/108041/ |