Table 1.
Characteristics of respondents by BMI status, NHMS 2015
| Characteristic | BMI status | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total sample | Normal-weight | Overweight/Obese | p-value (Chi-square) | |
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | ||
| Overall | 17,261 (100.0) | 7718 (48.8) | 9543 (51.2) | |
| Sex | 0.003 | |||
| Men | 8287 (52.6) | 3984 (50.3) | 4303 (49.7) | |
| Women | 8974 (47.4) | 3734 (47.1) | 5240 (52.9) | |
| Age group (years) | < 0.001 | |||
| 18–29 | 3900 (30.5) | 2265 (60.0) | 1635 (40.0) | |
| 30–39 | 3480 (23.6) | 1510 (48.0) | 1970 (52.0) | |
| 40–49 | 3374 (18.5) | 1255 (40.3) | 2119 (59.7) | |
| 50–59 | 3315 (14.7) | 1199 (38.3) | 2116 (61.7) | |
| ≥ 60 | 3192 (12.7) | 1489 (47.7) | 1703 (52.3) | |
| Ethnicity | < 0.001 | |||
| Malays | 10,678 (49.0) | 4411 (44.1) | 6267 (55.9) | |
| Chinese | 2676 (22.5) | 1455 (56.5) | 1221 (43.5) | |
| Indians | 1238 (7.0) | 452 (34.7) | 786 (65.3) | |
| Other Bumiputeras | 1562 (11.1) | 727 (47.5) | 835 (52.5) | |
| Others | 1107 (10.4) | 673 (65.0) | 434 (35.0) | |
| Residential area | 0.067 | |||
| Urban | 9976 (76.0) | 4473 (48.2) | 5503 (51.8) | |
| Rural | 7285 (24.0) | 3245 (50.7) | 4040 (49.3) | |
| Marital status | < 0.001 | |||
| Single | 3402 (26.5) | 1973 (59.1) | 1429 (40.9) | |
| Married | 12,211 (66.6) | 5025 (44.9) | 7186 (55.1) | |
| Widow/widower/divorcee | 1648 (6.9) | 720 (46.3) | 928 (53.7) | |
| Educational level | 0.002 | |||
| No formal education | 1110 (5.6) | 583 (55.4) | 527 (44.6) | |
| Primary | 4226 (21.0) | 1876 (49.2) | 2350 (50.8) | |
| Secondary | 7927 (46.9) | 3423 (47.0) | 4504 (53.0) | |
| Tertiary | 3806 (26.4) | 1730 (49.7) | 2076 (50.3) | |
| Monthly household income (1 USD = 4.44 MYR) | 0.824 | |||
| < MYR1000 | 2721 (13.2) | 1263 (50.5) | 1458 (49.5) | |
| MYR1000-MYR1999 | 3137 (16.4) | 1423 (49.4) | 1714 (50.6) | |
| MYR2000-MYR2999 | 2934 (16.4) | 1318 (48.5) | 1616 (51.5) | |
| MYR3000-MYR3999 | 2217 (13.0) | 964 (48.0) | 1253 (52.0) | |
| MYR4000-MYR4999 | 1535 (9.7) | 691 (48.5) | 844 (51.5) | |
| ≥ MYR5000 | 4717 (31.3) | 2059 (48.3) | 2658 (51.7) | |
| Physical activity level | <0.001 | |||
| Low | 5230 (31.0) | 2371 (49.0) | 2859 (51.0) | |
| Moderate | 7221 (42.2) | 3080 (46.6) | 4141 (53.4) | |
| High | 4751 (26.8) | 2233 (51.7) | 2518 (48.3) | |
| Sedentary behaviour | 0.584 | |||
| Yes (≥ 8 h sitting time/day) | 2197 (14.1) | 992 (48.0) | 1205 (52.0) | |
| No (< 8 h sitting time/day) | 14,986 (85.9) | 6683 (48.8) | 8303 (51.2) | |
| Diabetes | < 0.001 | |||
| Yes | 1869 (8.6) | 558 (30.0) | 1311 (70.0) | |
| No | 15,392 (91.4) | 7160 (50.5) | 8232 (49.5) | |
| Hypertension | < 0.001 | |||
| Yes | 2908 (13.8) | 815 (28.8) | 2093 (71.2) | |
| No | 14,353 (86.2) | 6903 (52.0) | 7450 (48.0) | |
| Hypercholesterolemia | < 0.001 | |||
| Yes | 2016 (9.7) | 593 (31.3) | 1423 (68.7) | |
| No | 15,245 (90.3) | 7125 (50.6) | 8120 (49.4) | |