Table 1 Descriptive characteristics of a cohort of 590 Malaysian preschoolers participating in a study on sugar-sweetened beverages
From: Correlates of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption of Malaysian preschoolers aged 3 to 6 years
|  | Boys (N = 317) | Girls (N = 273) | Total (N = 590) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mean ± SD | ||||
Race | ||||
 -Malay (%) | 65.3 (207) | 63.0 (172) | 64.2 (379) | 0.562 |
 -Chinese (%) | 34.7 (110) | 37.0 (101) | 35.8 (211) |  |
Age (years) | 4.7 ± 0.8 | 4.4 ± 0.9 | 4.6 ± 0.9 | 0.001 |
Body weight (kg) | 15.3 ± 3.5 | 14.6 ± 3.7 | 15.0 ± 3.6 | 0.019 |
Height (m) | 1.0 ± 0.1 | 1.0 ± 0.1 | 1.0 ± 0.1 | < 0.001 |
BMI (kg/m2) | 14.3 ± 1.8 | 14.2 ± 1.8 | 14.3 ± 1.8 | 0.657 |
BMI z-scorea | −0.9 ± 1.2 | −1.1 ± 1.4 | − 1.0 ± 1.3 | 0.062 |
 -Thinness | 12.9 (41) | 29.7 (81) | 20.7 (122) | < 0.001 |
 -Normal weight | 83.9 (266) | 67.8 (185) | 76.4 (451) | |
 -Overweight and obese | 3.2 (10) | 2.6 (7) | 2.9 (17) | |
Waist circumference (cm) | 49.9 ± 4.8 | 50.4 ± 4.9 | 50.1 ± 4.8 | 0.200 |
Hip circumference (cm) | 55.4 ± 4.7 | 56.0 ± 5.7 | 55.7 ± 5.2 | 0.152 |
Weekly breakfast status | ||||
 - < 5 times/week | 44.8 (142) | 62.6 (171) | 53.1 (313) | < 0.0001 |
 - ≥5 times/week | 55.2 (175) | 37.4 (102) | 46.9 (277) |  |
Monthly fast food status | ||||
 - Yes | 58.4 (185) | 68.5 (187) | 63.1 (372) | 0.011 |
Weekly snack status | ||||
 - < 5 times/week | 64.5 (182) | 43.0 (105) | 54.6 (287) | < 0.0001 |
 - ≥5 times/week | 35.5 (100) | 57.0 (139) | 45.4 (239) |  |
Daily fruit and vegetable status | ||||
 - < 2 servings/day  - ≥2 servings/day | 93.1 (295) 6.9 (22) | 83.5 (228) 16.5 (45) | 88.6 (523) 11.4 (67) | < 0.0001 |
Weekly vigorous PA level status | ||||
 - Yes | 68.1 (216) | 68.5 (187) | 68.3 (403) | 0.925 |
Daily screen-based sedentary practice | ||||
 - < 2 h/day | 48.6 (154) | 59.7 (163) | 53.7 (317) | 0.007 |
 - ≥2 h/day | 51.4 (163) | 40.3 (110) | 46.3 (273) |  |
SSB consumption status per week | ||||
 - Yes (%) | 59.9 (190) | 62.6 (171) | 61.2 (361) | 0.279 |
Frequency (times/week) | 5.0 ± 4.4 | 4.8 ± 3.4 | 5.0 ± 3.9 | 0.630 |
Types of SSBb | ||||
 - Sugar-added beverages | 44.2 (84) | 48.0 (82) | 46.0 (166) |  |
 - Carbonated soda beverages | 26.3 (50) | 18.7 (32) | 22.7 (82) |  |
 - Fruit-flavoured drinks | 16.3 (31) | 15.2 (26) | 15.8 (57) |  |
 - Flavoured milk drinks | 13.2 (25) | 18.1 (31) | 15.5 (56) |  |
Parental characteristics | ||||
 Household size | 5.7 ± 1.7 | 5.1 ± 1.5 | 5.4 ± 1.6 | < 0.001 |
 Number of siblings | 2.9 ± 1.5 | 2.7 ± 1.3 | 2.8 ± 1.4 | 0.075 |
 Household income (RM/month) | ||||
  - <RM3000.00 | 42.4 (134) | 45.8 (125) | 44.0 (259) | 0.410 |
  - ≥RM3000.00 | 57.6 (182) | 54.2 (148) | 56.0 (330) | |
Father | ||||
 Age (years) | 34.4 ± 7.1 | 34.0 ± 7.4 | 34.2 ± 7.2 | 0.515 |
 BMI (kg/m2)c | 25.8 ± 3.9 | 26.2 ± 3.1 | 26.0 ± 3.6 | 0.218 |
  - Underweight | 1.4 (4) | 0.7 (2) | 1.1 (6) | < 0.0001 |
  - Normal weight | 47.4 (135) | 33.2 (89) | 40.5 (224) | |
  - Overweight | 36.8 (105) | 59.0 (158) | 47.6 (263) |  |
  - Obese | 14.4 (41) | 7.1 (19) | 10.8 (60) | |
 Paternal educational status | ||||
  - Never to secondary school | 51.4 (163) | 56.4 (154) | 53.7 (317) | 0.233 |
  - Up to tertiary education | 48.6 (154) | 43.6 (119) | 46.3 (273) |  |
Mother | ||||
 Age (years) | 32.4 ± 6.0 | 31.9 ± 6.1 | 32.2 ± 6.0 | 0.257 |
 BMI (kg/m2)c | 23.0 ± 5.6 | 24.3 ± 4.7 | 23.6 ± 5.2 | 0.003 |
  - Underweight | 14.5 (46) | 7.7 (21) | 11.4 (67) | 0.002 |
  - Normal weight | 61.8 (196) | 56.0 (153) | 59.2 (349) | |
  - Overweight | 15.5 (49) | 24.9 (68) | 19.8 (117) | |
  - Obese | 8.2 (26) | 11.4 (31) | 9.7 (57) | |
 Maternal educational status | ||||
  - Never to secondary school | 46.4 (147) | 55.7 (152) | 50.7 (299) | 0.027 |
  - Up to tertiary education | 53.6 (170) | 44.3 (121) | 49.3 (291) |  |