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The emphasis is on puberty, as this is a crucial period of the growth of becoming overweight and obese due to inadequate eating habits and physical inactivity. Lifestyle risk factors are not well known to the South Asian people. The purpose of this review is to determine whether self-monitoring physical activity (PA) programmes can be an effective tool to improve PA levels in school-age children and adolescents, hence be adopted to serve as a platform for additional research. Systematic search was conducted using PUBMED, MEDLINE and Google Scholar databases from Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives. The electronic search yielded an initial 70 articles and the majority of articles were eliminated. The remaining relevant papers were 18 that became the basis for this review. Review sources were from 2008 to 2019. The majority of South Asian adolescents were not active enough to meet the recommended guidelines for PA. Further, none of the articles were published under self-monitoring PA interventions among age 11 to 19 adolescents in South Asia. Further knowledge concerning Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) and healthy lifestyle factors were poor among school adolescents. The outcomes of this review highlight the need for evidence-based intervention programmes with the potential of self-monitoring to be incorporated into the national education system.

This study compares the static eye movement (eyes open and eyes closed) and dynamic balance amongst Iranian elderly with and without knee range of motion (ROM) limitations. The method used was a quasi-experimental before/after study. The participants consisted of 30 older Iranian adults, aged 60 or more (10 females and 20 males across two groups of 15 in each group) who were evaluated using the Sharpened Romberg (SR), Timed Up and Go (TUG) tests. An independent t-test was used to compare the descriptive characteristics of the two groups of the elderly. The findings showed substantial alterations in all the measured components between the subjects. The static balance with an open eye (p = 0.028) and closed eye (p = 0.021), as well as the dynamic balance (p = 0.009) between the elderly with and without the limitation of knee ROM, was substantially different. Moving forward, the findings of this study suggested that the balance of the elderly was directly linked to knee ROM, as the elderly without limitations of knee ROM displayed greater stability than the elderly with limitations of knee ROM. Health care practitioners should also understand the ROM of the knee, as individuals with ROM limitations of the knee are more likely to fall due to underlying disorders associated with their balance.

With the older population increasing worldwide, depressive disorder in this cohort is a serious public health problem that contributes to increased healthcare costs and mortality. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of depression among older adults in Malaysia who attended a daycare centre and to identify the relationship between depression and demographic factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 159 older adults recruited following screening for mental capacity. The Malay Geriatric Depression Scale questionnaire was distributed among the participants to obtain descriptive data on the symptoms of depression. Some 59.1% of the participants experienced depression. The most common factors associated with depression were being divorced, low education levels and low income. The findings indicate the need to revise and re-evaluate the activities and programmes in daycare centres for older adults in order to objectively cater to their physical and emotional needs.

Several studies have shown a positive association between variable resistance training (VRT) and improvements in muscular performance. However, the effects of VRT on body composition among untrained individuals remain unclear. The objective of this study was to examine the comparison between of methods of VRT on body composition, muscular strength and functional capacity among untrained male adults. Fifty healthy untrained males (age: 21.5 ± 1.95 years) were selected randomly and assigned into three groups: combined weight and chain (WC), combined weight and elastic band (WE), and free-weight (CG). All three groups completed 12 weeks of high intensity resistance training (70-80% of one-repetition maximum) with three sets of 8-12 repetitions two times per week. Approximately 65% of the whole resistance was provided by free-weights, while the other 35% of the resistance was provided by chains and elastic bands for the WC and WE groups, respectively. Dependent variables including body composition, muscular strength and functional capacity using bioelectrical impedance analyzer, one-repetition maximum and maximum repetitions to muscular fatigue were measured, respectively in pre-test, post-test 1 (week 6) and post-test 2. Significance level was set at P 0.05), all groups showed a significant reduction in fat mass and significant increase in fat-free mass during and after the intervention ( P = 0.0001), and these differences were insignificantly greater in WE and WC groups compared with CG group. Furthermore, all three groups showed significant improvements in muscular strength and functional capacity during and after intervention ( P = 0.0001), and muscular strength and functional capacity were greater in WE and WC groups compared with the CG group, but there were not significant differences in muscular strength and functional capacity between WE and WC groups. However, the WE group showed insignificantly more improvement in muscular strength and functional capacity compared with the WC group during and after the intervention. The results of this study show that VRT has a slightly better effect than free-weight to improve body composition during and after 12 weeks intervention. Also, WE training had a slightly better effect than WC training in improving muscular strength and functional capacity during and after 12 weeks of VRT among untrained male adults.

Several studies have shown a positive association between variable resistance training (VRT) and the improvement of muscular performance. However, the most effective method of VRT to improve muscular performance in untrained individuals remains unclear. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of two methods of VRT on maximal muscular strength and endurance among untrained male adults. Fifty apparently healthy untrained males (age: 21.5 ± 1.95 years) were selected randomly and assigned into three groups: combined weight and chain (WC), combined weight and elastic band (WE), and freeweight (CG). All three groups completed 12 weeks of high intensity resistance training (70-80% of one-repetition maximum) with three sets of 8-12 repetitions, two times per week. Approximately 65% of the whole resistance was provided by free-weights and the other 35% of the resistance was provided by chains and elastic bands for WC and WE groups, respectively. Dependent variables including maximal muscular strength and endurance using one-repetition maximum and maximum repetitions to muscular fatigue were measured, respectively, in the pre-test, post-test 1 (week 6) and post-test 2. The significance level was set at P < 0.05. No differences existed among all groups at baseline for dependent variables. A mixed model ANOVA with repeated measurements analysis revealed that all groups showed significant improvements in maximal muscular strength and endurance during and after the intervention (P = 0.0001). In WE and WC groups, maximal muscular strength and endurance were significantly greater than CG group during and after the intervention, and there were no significant differences between WE and WC groups in the maximal muscular strength and endurance during and after the intervention. However, the WE group showed an insignificant more improvement in maximal muscular strength and endurance compared with WC group after the intervention (chest press strength: 47.94 ± 4.2 vs. 46.76 ± 4.4 kg, squat strength: 85.29 ± 6.5 vs. 80.73 ± 6.4 kg, chest press endurance: 16.94 ± 1.24 vs. 15.47 ± 1.58 repetitions, and squat endurance: 17.94 ± 0.74 vs. 16.58 ± 1.66 repetitions). The results of this study show that VRT has a significant better effect than freeweight resistance training to improve upper and lower body muscular strength and endurance during and after 12 weeks intervention, in particular, WE training has a slightly better effect than WC training to improve upper and lower body muscular strength and endurance after 12 weeks of VRT among untrained male adults in Iran.

University students typically enter a dynamic transitional period of new independence from their parents that is characterized by many factors. These factors which involve social, financial, and environment elements, can be a burden to the students putting them at risk in negative health behaviours. Negative health behaviours among university students are a course of concern since they have a tendency to be carried into adulthood which can possibly cause the emergence of chronic disease at a younger age. Emotional intelligence, spiritual intelligence together with self-efficacy are seen to promote better health behaviour. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence, spiritual intelligence and self-efficacy on health behaviours among university students in Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia. A correlational study was conducted on 400 undergraduate university students who lived on campus and were chosen through stratified random sampling technique using closed ended questionnnaires (Schutte’s Self Report Emotional Intelligence, The Spiritual Self-Report Inventory, General Self Efficacy Scale and a modified version of Health Style Questionnaire). Pearson correlation and structural equation modelling were used to explore association between these aspects. Emotional intelligence, spiritual intelligence, self-efficacy and health behaviour were significantly correlated. Emotional intelligence and self-efficacy showed a partial mediation effect towards the relationship between spiritual intelligence and promoting health behaviour (p=0.0001). Thus, there was an association between spiritual intelligence with health behaviour, emotional intelligence with health behaviour, and selfefficacy with health behaviour. It is interpreted that spiritual intelligence can boost positive health behaviour and it is associated with emotional intelligence and self-efficacy relevantly gives benefit to health behaviour. Such data have important implications for both health practice and policy especially for higher education institutions.

University students experience a substantial amount of change where they progress from the highly controlled setting of school to the self-motivated environment of the university. Many changes which involve social, financial, and environment elements, can be a burden to the students putting them at risk in negative health behaviours. Negative health behaviours among university students are a course of concern since they have a tendency to be carried into adulthood which can possibly cause the emergence of chronic disease at a younger age. Spiritual intelligence together with self-efficacy is seen to promote better health behaviour. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between spiritual intelligence and self-efficacy on health behaviours among university students in Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia. A correlational study was conducted on 400 undergraduate university students who lived on campus and were chosen through stratified random sampling technique using closed ended questionnnaires (The Spiritual Self-Report Inventory, General Self Efficacy Scale and a modified version of Health Style Questionnaire). Pearson correlation and structural equation modelling were used to explore association between these aspects. Spiritual intelligence, self-efficacy and health behaviour were significantly correlated. Self-efficacy showed a partial mediation effect towards the relationship between spiritual intelligence and promoting health behaviour (p=0.0001). Thus, there was an association between spiritual intelligence with health behaviour, and self-efficacy with health behaviour. It is interpreted that spiritual intelligence can boost positive health behaviour and it is associated with self-efficacy relevantly gives benefit to health behaviour. Such data have important implications for both health practice and policy especially for higher education institutions.

An understanding of factors influencing haemoglobin (Hb) level among antenatal mothers can help healthcare providers assess, take appropriate action and manage anaemia in this risk group more effectively. A cross-sectional study was conducted in urban areas in Malaysia to determine the Hb levels of antenatal mothers and their association with various socio-economic characteristics. Data for this study were collected from pregnant women during their first antenatal check-up at three selected polyclinics in Malaysia. Anaemia in pregnancy was determined by the Hb level recorded during the first and the last antenatal visits. Determination of Hb was either by a photo calorimetric method or by the Sahliis method. A structured self-administered questionnaire was used to identify the factors influencing Hb level among the antenatal mothers. This study found that 73 out of 217 mothers (33%) were anaemic in that their Hb levels were below 11.00 g/dl. The findings also suggested that Hb levels among the antenatal mothers were influenced by various factors such as education level, occupation, and family income. Anaemia was generally more common among antenatal mothers who had a lower level of education and who were from a background of lower family income.

This study was carried out to determine the relationship between ethnicity/culture and analgesic consumption among patients from three main ethnic groups in Malaysia after breast cancer surgery. A retrospective study design was adopted, using medical records of 80 patients. The findings showed that the analgesic most consumed by the patients during the 48 hour post-operative period was morphine equivalents (85%), followed by non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (60%) and paracetamol (38%). No relationship was found between ethnicity/culture and the type or amount of analgesic consumption.

Studies have indicated that lack of regular physical exercise and not adhering to a health-promot- ing lifestyle among student nurses are barriers to their encouraging patients to exercise. On the other hand, nurses who personally embrace physical activity are more likely to encourage their patients to improve their health through physical activity or diet. As a result, promoting an active and healthy lifestyle among student nurses is important because this has a crucial role in their subsequently encouraging healthy lifestyles among their patients. The aims of this study were to determine the physical activity levels and health-promoting lifestyles among student nurses in Malaysia, and to investigate whether there was a correlation between the physical activity levels of student nurses and their lifestyle habits. Further investigation was also carried out to correlate lifestyle habits with physical activity during weekdays and at the weekends. This study involved 189 student nurses who were pursuing Diplomas and Bachelor Degrees in local government universities. The Yamax Digi-Walker pedometer was used to measure physical activity, while the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP) II questionnaire was used to assess the health-pro- moting lifestyles of the participants. The HPLP II consisted of six sub-scales which included health responsibility, physical activity, nutrition, spiritual growth, interpersonal relations, and stress management. According to the results on physical activity, the student nurses had a mean of 8275.97 ± 2210.174 steps per day and were thus categorised as somewhat active. Additionally, the student nurses were found to be more active during weekends (M = 8389.75, SD = 2689.12) as compared to weekdays (M = 8230.46, SD = 2353.97). According to previous studies, both step counts are classified in the “somewhat active” category. Overall, the results for HPLP II showed that student nurses students in Malaysia had a positive health-promoting lifestyle with a score of 2.58 ± 0.34 on a 4-point Likert scale. The highest score was reported in spiritual growth, with a score of 2.92 ± 0.43. Meanwhile, physical activity was observed to be the lowest, with a score of 1.74 ± 0.39. The results found no correlation between physical activity and overall health-promoting lifestyle among student nurses in Malaysia (r = 0.06, n = 189, p < 0.37). However, there was a significant relationship between physical activity (measured by the pedometer) and physical activity habit (measured through the questionnaire) among the student nurses (r = 0.24, n = 189, p < 0.01). According to the findings, when the participants indicated in the questionnaire that they were active physically, the pedometer readings also showed a corresponding similarity in terms of their daily physical activities.

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of volunteer coaches in Malaysian schools about the relationship between organisational justice and organisational commitment. A cross-sectional correlational study using mail survey was conducted on 750 Malaysian school volunteer coaches. The subjects were selected using proportionate stratified and simple random sampling techniques. The data were analysed using structural equation modeling with AMOS. Path analysis showed that only interpersonal justice was related to affective commitment. Interpersonal justice creates a sense of belongingness and internalisation with the organisation value and norm, thus fostering higher affective commitment by willing to stay and strive for organisational goals. The results also show interpersonal justice to be negatively related with continuance commitment. This suggests that by providing fairer interpersonal treatment (i.e. interpersonal justice), the authorities would lower the volunteer coaches’ psychological engagements in continuance commitment. Distributive justice was found to be significantly related to normative commitment. Based on social exchange theory (Blau, 1964) if volunteer coaches are given opportunity through providing fair resources allocation and sports equipment, they would harness their effort to fully engage in coaching, in exchange, they would increase their normative commitment.

Studying Arab and Malaysian students at international schools appears new to the research field, as there is little in the way of data or literature review that has been obtained to date.The purpose of this study is to compare lifestyle parameters (physical activity, body composition, fitness level and Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) risk factors) of Arab and Malaysian adolescents Method:a total of 190 adolescents students, 96 Malaysian and 94 Arab, both male and female aged 14-16 years old, participated in this research.A questionnaire was used to obtain details of physical activity levels (PAL) in Metabolic Equivalents. A 20m shuttle-run test was used to estimate the fitness level (VO2max). A finger prick sample of fasting blood was obtained to measure high-density (HDL) lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), total cholesterol (TC), glucose (GLU) and triglycerides (TRG) in mmoll and identify CHD risk factors, by using the Cholestch LDX analyzer. BMI and %fat used for the body compositions. Conclusion:males were more physically active than females.Arab students had lower BMI, GLU, and TC and participated more in physical activities, and their fitness level was higher than Malaysian students at international schools.Malaysian adolescents had higher triglycerides levels than Arab adolescents.

Introduction: This review paper aims to introduce yoga as a method for dealing with stress of children, and discusses how it can help them to balance body and emotion. Children need to listen inward: to their bodies, ideas and their feelings. Yoga helps children on being self aware and taking part in social activities. Method: This review attempted to gather the relevant papers that were previously published on the subject. PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar were the sources for findings the articles. Only the articles that were published not later than 2005 were selected. Results: Nowadays, children’s expectations are higher than in the past, and their interest on the internet, media, and other communication technologies has increased. Using these media devices and the time that they spend on it may influence their lifestyles negatively and cause stress. While these technologies are very useful in their life for communication even in learning and entertainment, these sources can also lead to undeveloped attention. This article is suggesting yoga as a helpful method for children to deal with their stress, and to increase their well-being, mental health, and positive feelings. Conclusion: Yoga aids to improve physical and mental health among children and helps students in enhancing resilience, mood and self-regulation skills related to emotion and stress.

As we all know the benefits of physical activity (PA) on physical and mental health are well established. However, inactivity among adults in Malaysia is still prevalent. This study examined whether emotional intelligence (EI) was one of the possible underlying psychological mechanisms that may be associated with the current low levels of PA adherence. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to examine whether EI plays a role as the potential underlying mechanism of PA behaviour among Malaysian adults. A total of 172 supporting staffs were recruited at a local Malaysian university. It was found that supporting staffs with higher physical activity in a week had better total EI scores and composite subscale scores. The findings of this study provide further support on the claims that there is a positive relationship between increased levels of EI and physical activity. Thus, the importance of higher emotional intelligence is critical in helping to bombard the sedentary lifestyle and inactivity among Malaysian adults. Therefore, training programs for university staffs in emotional intelligence skills is seen to be one of the upmost important agenda that should be looked at in the public sectors to help in promoting exercise and physical activity participation. It is highly recommended that the programs should be targeted at the maximum level towards individual who were sedentary and low active.