Weight loss practice among women in the population of Taman Puteri, Jalan Samariang, Kuching, Sarawak

Overweight and obesity are increasing in Malaysia especially among women. Studies had hown that many people had tried to lose weight in order to maintain an ideal body weight to be more attractive and prevent obesity-related problems. Many weight loss methods had also been used in order to lose weight. This study aimed to describe weight loss attempts among women and the reasons for its practice. In addition, it also attempted to establish the common weight loss methods used in Kuching, Sarawak. A descriptiveexploratory survey, which was conducted using structured questionnaire, starting on the 1 January 2005 until 28th February 2005 in Perumahan Taman Puteri, lalan Samariang, Kuching. A total of 30 women aged 20 to 49 years old who were attempting to lose weight was recruited. The outcome measures of this study are Infonnation about participants charactelistics, weight loss attempts using various weight loss methods, reason tor losing weight, , criteria for the choice of weight loss methods and body weight and height was obtained to calculate the Body Mass Index (Weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) among participants. The findings showed that the prevalence of attempt to lose weight was higher among younger women between the ages of 20 to 29 years old. Respectively, among those attempting to lose weight, the most common strategy was combination of exercise and dieting (n = 14). Other reported weight loss practices included combination of exercise, dieting and weight loss products (n=5), combination of dieting and meal modification (n=4), use of weight loss products (n=5), and exercise (n=2). Approximately 47.8% (n=ll) of overweight respondents and 30.4% (n 7) of obese respondents reported that they had been counseled to lose weight