Abdominal Obesity and Its Associated Factors Among Malaysian Women, Does Ethnicity Matter?

Introduction Generally, a cause of death and disability were contributed by an excess of body fat. For health, the issue is not how much you weigh, but how much abdominal fat you have. This study aims to determine the prevalence of abdominal obesity among Malaysian women and its association with sociodemographic and personal life style. Methodology Data were obtained from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2019 which was carried out via face-to-face interviews using mobile devices. Abdominal obesity was defined according to WHO/IASO/IOTF, 2000 Waist Circumference cut-off (>= 90cm for Men, >= 80cm for Women). A complex sample analysis was carried out at 95% confidence interval using SPSS version 21.0. Results The prevalence of abdominal obesity among women was 64.8% (95% CI: 62.62, 66.94). Ethnic Malays with age 60 years and above have the highest rate of abdominal obesity compared to other groups. Higher abdominal obesity was found in rural area, age 40-59 years old, unemployed, B40 income group and inactive physical activity for Sarawakians. Logistic regression analysis found that women at risk of having abdominal obesity in Malaysia were those of older people [aOR: 3.464 (95% CI: 2.460 - 4.879)], Sarawakians [aOR: 3.682 (95% CI: 2.222 - 6.102)] and no formal education [aOR: 1.354 (95% CI: 1.052 - 1.742)]. Discussion NHMS 2019 revealed that abdominal obesity was higher among women compared to male. Therefore, health education programs should provide information about the risk factors for abdominal obesity to all women, and preventive strategies should be implemented accordingly. [ Disclaimer: Abstract text might vary slightly from what is displayed in the e-poster] ; This poster was submitted to the 14th National Conference for Clinical Research (NCCR) in August 18-20, 2021. https://nccrconference.com.my/