Table 1.
Sociodemographic characteristics, eating behaviors, physical activity, body weight status, and cognitive performance of the children in intervention and comparison groups at pre-intervention (n = 523).
| Characteristics | Respondents | Mean ± SD/n (%) |
t-Test/Chi-Square, p-Value 1 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total (n = 523) |
Intervention (n = 251) |
Comparison (n = 272) | ||
| Sociodemographic characteristics | ||||
| Sex | χ2 = 5.93, p = 0.015 * | |||
| Boys | 269 (51.4) | 143 (57.0) | 126 (46.3) | |
| Girls | 254 (48.6) | 108 (43.0) | 146 (53.7) | |
| Age (years) | 8.95 ± 1.36 | 8.90 ± 1.36 | 8.99 ± 1.36 | t = −0.78, p = 0.438 |
| Ethnicity | χ 2 = 2.15, p = 0.341 | |||
| Malay | 260 (49.7) | 132 (52.6) | 128 (47.1) | |
| Chinese | 159 (30.4) | 69 (27.5) | 90 (33.1) | |
| Indian | 104 (19.9) | 50 (19.9) | 54 (19.8) | |
| Parental Monthly Income 2 (RM) | 2964.32 ± 2425.46 | 3156.31 ± 2514.85 | 2787.15 ± 2330.56 | t = −0.66, p = 0.510 |
| B40 (<RM3860) | 399 (76.3) | 181 (72.1) | 218 (80.1) | χ2 = 0.25, p = 0.616 |
| M40 (RM3860-8319) | 104 (19.9) | 56 (22.3) | 48 (17.6) | |
| T20 (>RM8319) | 20 (3.8) | 14 (5.6) | 6 (2.2) | |
| Father’s Education Level | Total (n = 449) |
Intervention (n = 177) | Comparison (n = 272) | χ2 = 3.31, p = 0.191 |
| Primary or below | 56 (12.5) | 22 (12.4) | 34 (12.5) | |
| Secondary | 333 (74.2) | 125 (70.6) | 208 (76.5) | |
| Tertiary | 60 (13.4) | 30 (16.9) | 30 (11.0) | |
| Mother’s Education Level | Total (n = 449) |
Intervention (n = 177) | Comparison (n = 272) | χ2 = 5.59, p = 0.061 |
| Primary or below | 68 (15.1) | 30 (16.9) | 38 (14.0) | |
| Secondary | 309 (68.8) | 111 (62.7) | 198 (72.8) | |
| Tertiary | 72 (16.0) | 36 (20.3) | 36 (13.2) | |
| Main meal consumption (Mean number of days in a week, 0–7) | ||||
| Breakfast | 4.88 ± 2.67 | 4.90 ± 2.69 | 4.86 ± 2.66 | t = 0.20, p = 0.838 |
| Lunch | 5.65 ± 2.21 | 5.68 ± 2.14 | 5.62 ± 2.28 | t = 0.33, p = 0.742 |
| Dinner | 5.55 ± 2.42 | 5.78 ± 2.26 | 5.34 ± 2.55 | t = 2.09, p = 0.037 * |
| Snacking Behaviors (Mean number of days in a week, 0–7) | ||||
| Morning Tea | 4.31 ± 2.56 | 4.39 ± 2.64 | 4.24 ± 2.49 | t = 0.71, p = 0.478 |
| Afternoon Tea | 3.60 ± 2.83 | 3.72 ± 2.80 | 3.48 ± 2.86 | t = 0.97, p = 0.334 |
| Supper | 1.80 ± 2.48 | 1.79 ± 2.45 | 1.82 ± 2.50 | t = −0.13, p = 0.900 |
| Physical Activity | ||||
| Total Physical Activity score (1–5) | 2.45 ± 0.61 | 2.42 ± 0.66 | 2.47 ± 0.55 | t = −0.82, p = 0.412 |
| Physical Activity Level | χ2 = 6.68, p = 0.035 * | |||
| Low (1.00–2.33) | 236 (45.1) | 123 (49.0) | 113 (41.5) | |
| Moderate (2.34–3.66) | 269 (51.4) | 116 (46.2) | 153 (56.3) | |
| High (3.67–5.00) | 18 (3.4) | 12 (4.8) | 6 (2.2) | |
| Body Composition | ||||
| Weight (kg) | 29.93 ± 10.57 | 30.10 ± 11.32 | 29.77 ± 9.85 | t = 0.36, p = 0.717 |
| Height (cm) | 130.10 ± 9.74 | 130.13 ± 9.82 | 130.07 ± 9.69 | t = 0.07, p = 0.943 |
| BMI-for-age z score (BAZ) | 0.15 ± 1.71 | 0.16 ± 1.76 | 0.14 ± 1.66 | t = 0.09, p = 0.926 |
| Body Weight Status | χ2 = 0.54, p = 0.909 | |||
| Thinness (BAZ < −2SD) | 41 (7.8) | 18 (7.2) | 23 (8.5) | |
| Normal (−2SD ≤ BAZ ≤ +1SD) | 325 (62.1) | 158 (62.9) | 167 (61.4) | |
| Overweight (+1SD < BAZ ≤ +2SD) | 70 (13.4) | 32 (12.7) | 38 (14.0) | |
| Obesity (BAZ > +2SD) | 87 (16.6) | 43 (17.1) | 44 (16.2) | |
| Cognitive Performance | ||||
| Cognitive Performance score | 89.33 ± 15.87 | 89.99 ± 15.33 | 88.73 ± 16.36 | t = 0.91, p = 0.365 |
| Cognitive Performance Level | χ2 = 3.43, p = 0.488 | |||
| Low and borderline (<80) | 118 (22.6) | 50 (19.9) | 68 (25.0) | |
| Below average (80–89) | 146 (27.9) | 69 (27.5) | 77 (28.3) | |
| Average (90–109) | 189 (36.1) | 97 (38.6) | 92 (33.8) | |
| High average (110–119) | 42 (8.0) | 23 (9.2) | 19 (7.0) | |
| Superior (≥120) | 28 (5.4) | 12 (4.8) | 16 (5.9) | |
1 Comparison of pre-intervention characteristics between IG and CG was performed for continuous and categorical variables by using an independent sample t-test and chi-square tests. Significant differences between IG and CG were determined at p-value < 0.05. 2 Based on data from Department of Statistics Malaysia (2018), parental monthly income was categorized into B40 (<RM 3860), M40 (RM 3860—RM 8319), or T20 (>RM 8319) [33].