Table 2 Characteristics of the respondents at baseline among secondary schoolchildren
Characteristic of respondents | Intervention | Control | X2 | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
(n = 579) | (n = 462) | |||
Gender, n (%) | ||||
 Boys | 234 (40.4) | 196 (42.4) | 0.43 | 0.53 |
 Girls | 345 (59.6) | 266 (57.6) |  |  |
Location, n (%)a | ||||
 Urban | 330 (57.0) | 337 (72.9) | 28.39 | < 0.0001*** |
 Rural | 249 (43.0) | 125 (27.1) |  |  |
Age groups, n (%)a | ||||
 13 years | 261 (45.1) | 168 (36.4) | 16.23 | < 0.0001*** |
 14 years | 79 (13.6) | 104 (22.5) |  |  |
 16 years | 239 (41.3) | 190 (41.1) |  |  |
Ethnicity, n (%)a | ||||
 Malay | 486 (83.9) | 337 (72.9) | 26.17 | < 0.0001*** |
 Chinese | 32 (5.5) | 30 (6.5) |  |  |
 Indian | 58 (10.0) | 95 (20.6) |  |  |
 Others | 3 (0.5) | 0 (0) |  |  |
BMI Category, n (%)a | ||||
 Overweight | 252 (43.5) | 226 (48.9) | 4.05 | 0.13 |
 Obese | 250 (43.2) | 189 (40.9) |  |  |
 Morbid obese | 77 (13.3) | 47 (10.2) |  |  |
Anthropometric Status, mean (SD)b | ||||
 Body weight (kg) | 70.46 (15.33) | 70.75 (14.83) |  | 0.761 |
 Body height (cm) | 157.32 (8.29) | 158.32 (8.29) |  | 0.017** |
 BMI-for-age z-score | 2.16 (0.73) | 2.09 (0.71) |  | 0.127 |
 Skeletal muscle mass (kg) | 22.98 (5.09) | 23.26 (5.35) |  | 0.377 |
 Body fat mass (kg) | 28.20 (9.45) | 28.02 (9.46) |  | 0.754 |
 Percentage body fat | 39.42 (6.90) | 39.12 (7.60) |  | 0.507 |