Malays. Appl. Biol. (2017) 46(3): 113–121
ASSESSING WALKING STEPS AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH
NUTRITIONAL STATUS AMONG ADULTS IN
KUALA TERENGGANU
LEONG RHU CHYI, ASMA’ ALI*, NOOR SALIHAH ZAKARIA and HAYATI MOHD YUSOF
School of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT),
21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia
*Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Accepted 19 September 2017, Published online 4 October 2017
ABSTRACT
To date, 10,000 steps per day are extensively promoted as a target for achieving health-related benefits. Despite mounting evidence on the numerous health benefits provided by sufficient physical activities, little is known about physical activity levels in terms of walking steps of adults in Kuala Terengganu and the relationship between activity levels and nutritional status. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess daily walking steps taken as well as the relationship with nutritional status among 100 adults in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia. Walking activity was assessed using an Omron HJ-005 pedometer, while nutritional status was assessed through BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting glucose and serum lipid concentration. On average, participants recorded 5796 (4186) steps per day, below the recommended target of 10,000 walking steps goal. There was no significant relationship found between number of walking steps and nutritional status. Remarkably, daily walking steps were found to be significantly correlated with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), where r = 0.26, p < 0.01, indicating that pedometers are good indicators of physical activity levels. Nonetheless, an awareness program to increase the level of leisure-type physical activities such as walking is much encouraged in this population.
Key words: Walking steps, nutritional status, pedometers, physical activity
