Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Being overweight, with body weight perception as a mediator, has been identified to be primary reasons for bullying among adolescents. This study aimed to explore the association between body weight, body weight perception and bullying among students 13 to 17 years of age in Malaysia. METHODS: A two-stage stratified cluster sampling design was used and 212 schools across Malaysia were selected for this survey. A validated self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information on bullying and the students reflection of their body weight. Anthropometric measurements were recorded by trained research assistants. The complex sample design and weights were taken into account during all analysis. RESULTS: The prevalence of being bullied among adolescents in Malaysia was 16.2%. There was a significant interaction found between body mass index (BMI) and body weight perception. Students who were obese had 74% higher odds of being bullied compared to students in the normal BMI category. Students with a normal BMI but with a body weight perception of smaller than their actual category had 68% higher odds of being bullied while students with a normal BMI but with a body weight perception of higher than their actual category had 57% higher odds of being bullied. DISCUSSION: Obesity and body image perception are both equally important modifiable factors that may help reduce the prevalence of bullying among Malaysian adolescents. Obesity prevention, together with instilling positive body weight perception, should be part of all programs directed towards tackling the problem of bullying.
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@proceedings{APCPH-2019-39,
title = {Body Weight, Body Weight Perception and Bullying Among Adolescents in Malaysia},
author = {Shubash Shander Ganapathy and LeeAnn Tan and Rajini Sooryanarayana and Mohd Hazrin Hashim and Thamil Arasu Saminanthan and Fazila Haryati Ahmad and Ruhaya Salleh and Nur Shahida Abdul Aziz},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-07-22},
urldate = {2019-07-22},
journal = {6th Asia-Pacific Conference on Public Health 2019 Proceedings},
issue = {6},
abstract = {INTRODUCTION: Being overweight, with body weight perception as a mediator, has been identified to be primary reasons for bullying among adolescents. This study aimed to explore the association between body weight, body weight perception and bullying among students 13 to 17 years of age in Malaysia. METHODS: A two-stage stratified cluster sampling design was used and 212 schools across Malaysia were selected for this survey. A validated self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information on bullying and the students reflection of their body weight. Anthropometric measurements were recorded by trained research assistants. The complex sample design and weights were taken into account during all analysis. RESULTS: The prevalence of being bullied among adolescents in Malaysia was 16.2%. There was a significant interaction found between body mass index (BMI) and body weight perception. Students who were obese had 74% higher odds of being bullied compared to students in the normal BMI category. Students with a normal BMI but with a body weight perception of smaller than their actual category had 68% higher odds of being bullied while students with a normal BMI but with a body weight perception of higher than their actual category had 57% higher odds of being bullied. DISCUSSION: Obesity and body image perception are both equally important modifiable factors that may help reduce the prevalence of bullying among Malaysian adolescents. Obesity prevention, together with instilling positive body weight perception, should be part of all programs directed towards tackling the problem of bullying.},
note = {Type: ORAL PRESENTATION; Organisation: Institute for Public Health, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia},
keywords = {Adolescent Health Survey, apcph2019, Body weight, Body weight perception, bullying, NHMS},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {proceedings}
}