BIO300/DEC2014- APRIL 2015

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA PERAK,

KAMPUS TAPAH
FACULTY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
BIOLOGICAL TECHNIQUES AND SKILLS
BIO300
PROJECT PROPOSAL
AS1205B
A STUDY OF BODY MASS INDEX (BMI)
FOR SCREENING OVERWEIGHT AND
OBESITY AMONG GENERATION Y
STUDENTS IN UITM PERAK, TAPAH
CAMPUS

BIO300/DEC2014- APRIL 2015

PART A:
i.

RESEARCHER BACKGROUND
PROJECT LEADER/ MATRIC NO. /CONTACT NO.:

Muhammad Amirul Anuar Bin Shirat (2012159355)

+6012-3347894

ii.

PROJECT MEMBERS:

No.

Name

Matric Number

Contact Number

1.

Syamilah Salmiy Binti Johani

2012760899

+6017-2646570

2.

Ain Khairunnisa Binti Rusli

2012145779

+6017-6243029

3.

Mustafidzul Bin Mustapha

2012561259

+6013-6601203

4.

Muzaffar Adha Bin Ali Johari

2012164683

+6011-36523907

5.

Adib Hanifi Bin Abd Aziz

2012971839

+6012-4934301

iii.

PROJECT SUPERVISOR:

Ms. Zaidatul Shakila Bt Mohamad Ashari

iv.

CO-SUPERVISOR (if any)

Ms. Yanti Binti Yaakob

v.

LECTURER (Lecture/Laboratory)

Ms. Yanti Binti Yaakob

BIO300/DEC2014- APRIL 2015

PART B:
i)

RESEARCH PROJECT PROPOSAL

OBJECTIVES:

a. To determine the mean weight and mean body mass index (BMI) among
Malay students in Faculty of Applied Science, Faculty of Accountancy and
Faculty of Science Computer and Mathematics in UiTM Perak, Tapah
campus.

b. To observe the trends of body mass index among Malay students in UiTM
Perak, Tapah campus.

ii)

SIGNIFICANCE OF PROJECT:
Rapid growing and increased in weight as well as the body mass index
(BMI) has been observed in many developed countries around the world.
World Health Organization (WHO) reported that more than 1.4 billion
adults age from 20 years old and above were overweight and more than
10% population of the worlds adult was obese in the year 2008 globally
(WHO, 2015). In South-East Asia region, Malaysia has been ranked as
the fattest country and the sixth fattest country in the Asia-Pacific region
(The Star Online, 2014). Nowadays overweight and obesity become the
biggest threat to the Malaysian with 1 in 3 population were overweight,
replacing the traditionally health problem such as malnutrition and
infectious diseases. It was reported that 8.5 million Malaysian

BIO300/DEC2014- APRIL 2015

populations experiencing overweight and 4.4 million people were

suffering obesity (Utusan Online, 2013).
The rationale of the study focuses on the body mass index estimation to
screen overweight and obesity among Generation Y students in UiTM
Tapah campus. To the best of our knowledge, there are no study reports
or recorded data has been done on the BMI status among these
students. It is important to conduct this study since there are beneficial
inputs to the community especially to the Generation Y (those who were
born in 1980s and above) students in Universiti Teknologi MARA Perak,

Tapah campus. A person in Generation Y has been trained into a world that
makes it easy to become overweight and obese. This study might help

them to improve their understanding of the obesity phenomenon and

encourage them to practice a healthy lifestyle and maintaining the ideal

BMI. Furthermore, it is also indirectly motivates them to be more concern

about their health status and not to take any risk for any kinds of chronic
diseases that would affect their lifespan.

iii)

DEFINITION OF TERMS/CONCEPTS:
Body Mass Index (BMI)
According to World Health Organization (WHO, 2014), body mass index is
a simple index of weight-for-height that is commonly used to classify
underweight, overweight and obesity. It is defined as the weight in
kilograms (kg) divided by the square of height in metres (kg/m 2).
Overweight and obesity

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According to World Health Organization (WHO, 2014), overweight and

obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that
present a risk to health.
Generation Y
Generation Y are those born between 1982 and 2000 and they represents
at least 30% of the population and is increasing (McCrindle, 2010)
iv)

LITERATURE REVIEW:
Body mass index (BMI) is a simple index of weight-for-height and
commonly used to categorize underweight, overweight and obesity. BMI is
recognized as one of the useful indexes for adiposity or body fatness in
children and adults. BMI is determined by dividing weight in kilogram by
height in metres squared (kg/m2). Table 1 shows the classification of
overweight and obesity.
Classification
Underweight
Normal Range
Overweight

BMI (kg/m)
18.50
18.50 - 24.99
25.00

Preobese

25.00 29.99

Obese Class I

30.00 34.99

Obese Class II

Obese Class III

35.00 39.99
40.00

Table 1. This classification is being agreed and recommended in

determining the range of BMI (WHO, 2000).
In year 2014, it has been discovered that 49% women and 44%
men were found to be obese in Malaysia. This cause that Malaysia was
rated as heavyweight at 45.3% of its population and followed by South

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Korean, Pakistan and China by 33.2%, 30.7% and 28.3% respectively

(The Star Online, 2014)
Lifestyle factors that may contribute to the development of
overweight status in adolescents are such as eating unhealthy food and
physical inactivity. Food intake can be affected by many factors, including
the price, portion size, taste, variety, and accessibility of foods. The
method used in preparing the food is also important. There are also strong
cultural influences on the types of food consumed with some societies
abstaining from particular types of food or only eating food if it has been
prepared in a specific manner. The fat are more and considerably less
fibre than the recommended levels are currently consume by the modern
diet of developed and developing countries (Crowther, 2009). High fat
convenience foods such as French fries and inexpensive high calorie
foods such as muffins and potato chips are thought to contribute to the
increased prevalence of overweight status in youth and are now readily
available at any place due to pouring rights with food companies
regarding vending machines and to outsourcing of food production to fast
food chains.

Moreover, genetic factors may act as determinants of BMI by

affecting energy balance. More than 300 genes, markers, and
chromosomal regions have been found to be associated with various
human obesity phenotypes28 and genetic factors can explain that the
estimate of 3070% of the variance in BMI in humans (Crowther, 2009).
Currently, the obesity-associated elements within FTO interact with IRX3,
a distant gene on the genome that appears to be the functional obesity
gene has been discovered by an international team of scientists. (Jiang,
2014). The common form of obesity is a polygenic disease and it is
thought that each of the polymorphisms involved contributes in only a

BIO300/DEC2014- APRIL 2015

small way to the phenotype and this may explain why it has been very
difficult to unravel the genetic aetiology of human obesity.

Early weight management is crucial since overweight and obesity

are closely related to cardiovascular risk, diabetes, cancer and mortality.
In addition, weight management costs are much less compared to costs of
treatment for obesity related diseases.
v)

REFERENCES:

Jiang, K. (2014, March 14). Researchers identify fat gene associated

with

obesity

http://news.uchicago.edu/a

Retrieved

from

UChicagoNews:

rticle/2014/03/14/researchers-identify-

fat-gene-associated-obesity

Crowther, NJ. (2009). Factors predisposing to obesity: a review of the

literature. 2.
Physical activity and healthy eating in Minnesota. (2010). In Addressing
root causes of obesity (p. 13). Minnesota: BlueCross BlueShield of
Minnesota.
What Causes Overweight and Obesity. (2012, July). Retrieved from
National

Heart,

Lungs

and

Blood

Institute:

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/obe/causes
Tan, B. Y., Kantilal, H. K., & Singh, R. (2008). Prevalence of metabolic
syndrome among Malaysians using the international diabetes federation,
national cholesterol education program and modified World Health
Organization definitions. Malaysian journal of nutrition, 14(1), 65-77.

BIO300/DEC2014- APRIL 2015

Kee, C.C. (2011, December 5). Sensitivity and Specificity of Waist

Circumference As A Single Screening Tool. Retrieved from Med J
Malaysia.

Flegal, K. M., Carroll, M. D., Kit, B. K., & Ogden, C. L. (2012). Prevalence
of obesity and trends in the distribution of body mass index among US
adults, 1999-2010. Jama, 307(5), 491-497.

Gallagher, D., Heymsfield, S. B., Heo, M., Jebb, S. A., Murgatroyd, P. R., &
Sakamoto, Y. (2000). Healthy percentage body fat ranges: an approach
for developing guidelines based on body mass index. The American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 72(3), 694-701.
World Health Organization. (2000). Obesity: preventing and managing the
global epidemic (894). World Health Organization.
Zainuddin, L. R. M., Isa, N., Muda, W. M. W., & Mohamed, H. J. (2011).
The prevalence of metabolic syndrome according to various definitions
and hypertriglyceridemic-waist in Malaysian adults. International journal of
preventive medicine, 2(4), 229.
Nazifa, H. (2015). Generation Y and Obesity. Retrieved (2015, January
14) from Health Culture Society: file:///H:/BMI/Healthculturesociety%20%20Generation%20Y%20and%20Obesity.html
The Star Online, (2014). Malaysias Obesity Rate Highest in Asia.
Retrieved

(2015,

January

14)

from:

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/06/16/obesity-malaysiahighest-in-asia-says-pm-science-advisor/

BIO300/DEC2014- APRIL 2015

World Health Organization, (2014). Obesity and Overweight. Retrieved

(2015,

January

14)

from:

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/#content
Patrick, L. (2014). Malaysia is Fattest Country in South-East Asia.
Retrieved

(2015,

January

14)

from

the

Star

Online:

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/01/16/Scoring-badly-ondietary-habits-Malaysia-is-fattest-country-in-SE-Asia/
Hakimi, I. (2013). 8.5 Juta Rakyat Malaysia Gemuk. Retrieved (2015,
January

14)

from:

http://ww1.utusan.com.my/utusan/Dalam_Negeri/20130908/dn_06/85juta-rakyat-Malaysia-gemuk

BIO300/DEC2014- APRIL 2015

RESEARCH METHODS:

vi)
Survey

This study will be conducted in UiTM Tapah campus, Perak which only
focus on UiTM students by using English language survey and some requirement
measurements will be taken from the students. The non-student and staff of
UiTM will be excluded from this survey. Written informed consent from the
participants will be taken prior to measurements and interview session. Waist
circumference, neck circumference, body weight and height measurements will
be obtained from the participants. The measurement site selected for waist
circumference was based on WHO (2000) recommendations, whereby waist
circumference will be measured at the midpoint between the inferior margin of
the last rib and the iliac crest, using measuring tape. Body weight and standing
height measurements will be carried out. Body weight will be measured in
clothing without shoes using a normal weighing scale. Other than that, height will
measured without shoes to the head in metre (m) using measuring tape as well.
All measurements are taken and will be recorded twice and the averages will be
used in data analysis. The participants will be classified as overweight or obese if
BMI is around 25 or 30 kg/m 2 respectively which based on the classification
recommended by the World Health Organization Expert Committee on Physical
Status (Kee, 2011).

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Calculation
The BMI will be calculated by using formula as shown below which the
weight taken (in kilogram) will be divided by height (in metre) square. The index
that resulted from the calculation than, will be used for the statistical analysis.
BMI =

kg
2
m

Statistical Analysis
We will carry out the analysis by using primary data which will be collected
by our data collectors at first hand by response from our participants. A histogram
graph will be tabulate as it represents the three classes of index which are
underweight, normal range and overweight. This graph will have the frequency
which represent the number of students of the total amount of 100 students while
the class boundaries is represents the range of index that been recorded and
measured from data collectors. An approximate calculation will be carry out by
our data collectors. This will conduct by calculating the BMI based on the formula
given above. From these results we will determine the mean of the data by
dividing midpoint of interval of the data with the total number of students. Then,
we can find the mean to achieve one of the objectives of this project. (Zainuddin,
2011).

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vii) LIST OF EQUIPMENTS/FACILITIES:

Weighing scale, measuring tape, measuring calipers, pencil, paper

viii) LIST OF CHEMICALS/MEDIA:

-

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ix)

DECLARATION AND SIGNATURE

We are hereby declaring that the project is based on our original work except
for quotations and citations which have been duly acknowledge.

We are

conducting our investigations with honesty and integrity

SIGNATURE OF PROJECT LEADER: ________________________

(

SIGNATURE OF PROJECT MEMBER:

1.___________________________ : _____________________________
(NAME)

(SIGNATURE)

2.___________________________ : _____________________________

3.___________________________ : _____________________________
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BIO300/DEC2014- APRIL 2015

Signature of Supervisor

: ____________________________

Received date

: ____________________________

Returned date

: ____________________________

APPENDIX I
A STUDY OF BODY MASS INDEX FOR SCREENING OVERWEIGHT AND
OBESITY AMONG MALAY STUDENTS IN UITM PERAK, TAPAH CAMPUS
Researcher : Ms. Zaidatul Shakila Bt Mohamad Ashari
: Ms. Yanti Binti Yaakob

I,

____________________________________________________________

with

student

Identification

___________________

number

under

__________________

Faculty

of

from

program

__________________________

hereby agree to provide personal information as well as allow all tests and
measurements to be performed on myself without taking any action against the
parties concerned.

Participants signature

: _____________________

Participants name

: _____________________

Date

: _____________________

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BIO300/DEC2014- APRIL 2015

Data Collectors signature : _____________________

Data collectors name

: _____________________

Date

: _____________________

APPENDIX II
Name

I/C Number :
Student Id

Program

Faculty

Gender

Marital Status:
Type
Weight (kg)
Neck (m)
Height (m)
Waist circumference (cm)

Measurements

Question

Yes

No

Do you have any family history of obesity or overweight?

Do you eat in response to any of this?
(anger, sadness, frustration, boredom)
Are you currently on medication? If yes please name the
medicine:
___________________________
Do you have any of the following disease?
(High blood pressure / Diabetes / Heart disease)
Other: ______________________
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Does obesity run in your family?

Do you binge on unhealthy high calorie foods?
Are you currently a smoker?
Do you exercise?

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GANTT CHART
December
Research Activities /
Duration

Discussion with Advisor

Submission of first draft
Proposal Submission
Proposal Presentation
Collection of participants
information
Interpretation of data and
result
Thesis writing
Submission of final project
Final Project presentation

January

W1 W2 W3 W4 W1

W2

W3

February
W4

W1

W2

W3

March
W4 W1 W2 W3 W4

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