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BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES A cross-sectional study was undertaken to evaluate fluid intake and hydration status in association with cognitive function among 230 adolescents (10-14 years of age) in Petaling Perdana, Selangor, Malaysia. SUBJECTS/METHODS Urine color was used to measure hydration status, while fluid intake was assessed using the 15-item beverage intake questionnaire. Cognitive function was assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition. RESULTS More than half of the adolescents were mildly or moderately dehydrated (59.6%) and only one-third (33.0%) were well hydrated. Among the daily fluid types, intakes of soft drinks (r = -0.180; P = 0.006), sweetened tea (r = -0.184; P = 0.005) and total sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) (r = -0.199; P = 0.002) were negatively correlated with cognitive function. In terms of hydration status, cognitive function score was significantly higher (F-ratio = 4.102; P = 0.018) among hydrated adolescents (100.38 ± 12.01) than in dehydrated (92.00 ± 13.63) counterparts. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis, after adjusting for socio-demographic factors, showed that soft drinks (β = -0.009; P < 0.05) and sweetened tea (β = -0.019; P < 0.05) negatively predicted cognitive function (ΔR2 = 0.044). When further control for sources of fluid, hydration status (β = -2.839; P < 0.05) was shown to negatively predict cognitive function (ΔR2 = 0.021). The above variables contributed 20.1% of the variance in cognitive function. CONCLUSIONS The results highlight the links between fluid intake (soft drinks, sweetened tea, total SSBs) and hydration status with cognitive function in adolescents. Interventions aimed at decreasing the consumption of SSBs and increasing hydration status through healthy fluid choices, such as water, could improve cognitive performance in adolescents.

Children’s psychosocial factors related to healthy meal preparation are important for sustainable healthy dietary behaviour. At present, there is no valid and reliable tool to measure children’s psychosocial factors related to healthy meal preparation. Hence, this study aimed to develop, validate and determine the reliability of a questionnaire designed to measure psychosocial factors related to healthy meal preparation among Malaysian children. This cross-sectional study included 250 children aged 9–11 years. The questionnaire developed was tested for face and content validity. Item analysis was conducted for the knowledge domain. Construct validity of attitude, practice and self-efficacy domains was assessed using exploratory factor analysis with principle axis factoring extraction and direct oblimin rotation. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and Kuder-Richardson Formula 20 assessed internal consistency. The intraclass correlation coefficient determined test-retest reliability. All experts rated the questionnaire with a > 0.75 validity index. The knowledge domain had the optimal level of difficulty and could discriminate children with top and lower scores. Three-factor solutions emerged for the attitude domain and two-factor solutions emerged for the practice and self-efficacy domains, with appropriate factor loadings (> 0.40). Internal consistency ranged from 0.63–0.75 for the respective domains and an overall internal consistency of 0.82 for the whole questionnaire. Intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from 0.85–0.89 for the respective domains. Outcomes demonstrated that the questionnaire is a reliable and valid evaluation tool and can be adapted by countries to use in hands-on healthy meal preparation interventions to advocate healthy dietary behaviours among children.