The objective of this study is to produce a validated and reliable questionnaire that can assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of Malaysian young adults towards sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB). Content validation was done using I-CVI and face validity index (FVI) was used to performed face validation. Construct validity was examined using Exploratory Factor Analysis. Cronbach’s Alpha (α) was established to determine internal reliability, and Pearson Correlation (PCs) was used to measure the inter-rater reliability of the items. Public universities in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Experts in Nutrition and Health Sciences and undergraduates aged 18 and above. I-CVI lead to the elimination of one item in the attitude domain and all items obtained satisfactory levels of FVI. The measurement of α lead to the elimination of several items and PCs indicated excellent inter-rater reliability (r > 0.7; p < 0.05) for all of the remaining items. The evidence on the validity and reliability of a questionnaire to assess KAP on SSB has been obtained. It can now be used among young adults in Malaysia.

This studyaims to determine the effect of a 4-weeks traditional archery intervention on hand-eye coordination and upper limb reaction time in sedentary youth. Methods: Thirty sedentary youth with leisure time activities of less than 150 minutes/week (mean age = 21.03 ± 1.61 years old) were randomly assigned into an intervention and a control group. A specific regimen of traditional archery training was given to the intervention group for 4 weeks, the control group on the other hand was requested to maintaintheir lifestyle. Result: There was significant intervention effect on hand-eye coordination of the intervention group (p< 0.05). The reaction time of intervention group showed higher improvement compared to the control group, however, the intervention effect was not statistically significant (p>0.05). Conclusion: Archery trainingsignificantly improvedthe hand-eye coordination within 4 weeks. Keywords: Traditional archery; Reaction time; Ruler drop test; Hand-eye coordination, Wall toss test.

Traditional and local foods have been recognized as an intangible heritage and serve as a core element or supporting attraction to the particular tourist destinations. Thus, food cultural heritage has become a substantial part within the life of society and tourism sector which encompasses numerous aspects. Hence, this study has been conducted to discover in depth the cultural heritage of food in tourism destination at Kampong Bharu, Kuala Lumpur and the challenges faced to preserve the food cultural heritage. Methods: In-depth, semi structure interviews were conducted among five local food providers and a local authority to obtain the data for this study. Results:There are three main characteristics or issue involving the food cultural heritage in Kampong Bharu that have been highlighted which include the foods available in Kampong Bharu, standard preparation method of the foods, and facilitating factors and barriers in maintaining the heritage practice of the food. Conclusion: The findings showed that most of the local food provider in Kampong Bharu served Malay cuisine. They prefer to use their hereditary recipe to serve the foods in view it has been the main attraction to the people who are visiting Kampong Bharu. Different food preferences and increasing cost of the raw ingredient has become the main challenges to preserve the cultural food heritage in Kampong Bharu.

Introduction: Orang Asli (OA) in Malaysia is considered vulnerable to social, economic and legal abuse. The increase in prevalence of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) among OA was reported due to their lifestyle changes. Our study aimed to determine the level of knowledge on NCDs among OA community and its’ association with demographic factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study by face-to-face interview was conducted among consented adult OA in Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan using a validated questionnaire. Their knowledge on risk factors, complications and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases was asked. Respective thresholds and ranges for poor, moderate and good categories were set as 0-15, 15–21 and 21- 28. Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis test was used to test the association between the demographic profile and knowledge score since the data was not normally distributed. Results: A total of 325 respondents with mean age 39.94 (±13.196) ranged from 18 to 83-year-old participated in this study. Majority were females (71.1%) with primary education (39.1%) and mean household income of RM 615.47 (± 446.79). Their mean knowledge score was 12.82 (±9.671). Majority of them had poor knowledge (51.7%). The respondents with higher education background had significantly better knowledge score compared to lower education background (p <0.001). Conclusion: Study shows that the level of knowledge on NCDs among OA is low and associated with level of education. Effective health intervention programs among OA can be one of the strategic methods to increase their knowledge on NCDs and eventually their health.

Introduction: Data on water and sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) intake among young adults in Malaysia is sparse. This study aimed at measuring the intake of plain water and SSB among undergraduate students in a Malaysian university and examine its association with body mass index (BMI). Methods: A total of 376 undergraduate students aged 18-30 years were recruited. A selfadministered questionnaire was used to determine the SSB consumption pattern. The questionnaire consisted of five sections that included the background of the participants, knowledge about SSB, SSB preferences, frequency and portion size. Results: 23.9% of subjects in this study were overweight. Almost all of the subjects took outside food (93.1%) and drink (74.2%). The highest daily consumption was plain water (92.3%), with a majority drinking more than two cups at each intake. Caffeinated drinks (coffee or tea) were the most popular SSB among the students (18.4%). Most students (79.7%) did not consume SSB on a daily basis. A significant association was found between the proportion of plain water consumption and BMI (p<0.05). Those who were overweight consumed a greater amount of plain water as compared to those underweight. Conclusion: Our findings of low plain water intake among the underweight may be used to tailor intervention efforts to increase its intake and reduce that of SSB, especially among underweight young adults. Key words: Sugar sweetened beverages, SSB, plain water, obesity, undergraduate students

Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake is considered an important contributing factor to obesity in youth. Replacing SSB with calorie-free beverage has potentially reduced energy intake and obesity prevention; however the health outcomes remain unclear. We evaluated the effect of the substitution of plain water for SSBs with incident of obesity in female youth. We conducted a two months intervention on plain water intake. A total of 43 overweight female (age 22.0 � 2.6 years) were randomly assigned to Intervention (n=23) and Control (n= 20) groups. The intervention regime consists of increasing intake of daily plain water consumption, and avoiding SSB. However, intake of 1 serving of fresh milk per day is allowed. Body composition measurements, diet history questionnaires (DHQ), SF-36 and goal-adjustment scale (GAS) questionnaires were ascertained at baseline and week 8. There was a significant increase (p<0.001) in plain water intake in the Intervention group as compared to the Control group. With respect to body composition, there was a significant intervention effect in body weight (p<0.05) and BMI (p<0.01). It was shown that both body weight and BMI improved in the Intervention group as compared to Control. Both waist circumference and body fat percentage revealed significant group effect (p<0.05). No significant intervention effect was found on both SF-36 and GAS items. Replacing SSB with plain water is effective in improving body composition among youth. There is a need to conduct a larger scale study with longer duration and measuring biochemical parameters for further research.