Objective: The present study was done to confirm the relationship between changes in food patterns and nutrition transition in three South-East Asian countries, namely the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.Design: This was a cross-sectional study conducted between August 2008 and August 2009 using three methods: interviews, focus group discussions and analyses of government reports.Setting: The study was conducted in rural and urban areas in Manila and Calabanga (Philippines), Selangor and Kuala Selangor (Malaysia), and Padang, Pariaman Tanah Datar and Limapuluh Kota (West Sumatra, Indonesia).Subjects: Adults aged 18 to 77 years.Results: The results showed that Filipinos, Malaysians and Indonesians have retained many aspects of their traditional diets. In fact, most participants in the study considered Western-style and franchise fast foods as snack or recreational foods to be consumed once in a while only. However, a significant difference was noted between urban and rural areas in food varieties consumed. Participants in urban areas consumed more varieties of traditional foods owing to their availability and the participants’ food purchasing power. Although traditional food patterns were maintained by most of the participants, more sugar and vegetable oils were consumed and added to the traditional recipes.Conclusions: The rapid nutrition transition in this region may be due, instead, to increasing food availability and food purchasing power, rather than to a shift in food preferences towards modern Western foods.

Indonesia has a considerably high incidence of maternal and infant mortality. The country has however been experiencing a social and economic transition, influencing its general population demographics and nutritional status including the state of health and nutrition of pregnant women. This study aimed to explore body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain (GWG), and their relationship with pregnancy outcomes in a sample of Indonesian pregnant women. This observational cohort study included a total of 607 pregnant women who were recruited in 2010 from maternity clinics in Western Sumatra, Indonesia. Multiple logistic and regression analyses were undertaken to compare pregnancy and birth outcomes for different BMI and GWG, using normal weight women and women with a recommended weight gain as the referent groups. The prevalence of underweight (BMI < 18.5 kg/m2) in pregnancy was high at 20.1%; while 21.7% of women were overweight (BMI: 23.0–27.4 kg/m2) and 5.3% obese (BMI ≥ 27.5 kg/m2) using the Asian BMI classifications. The incidence of overweight (BMI: 25.0–29.9 kg/m2) and obese (BMI ≥ 30.0 kg/m2) according to the international BMI classifications were 13.5% and 1.1% respectively. The majority of women gained inadequate weight in pregnancy compared to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations, especially those who had a normal BMI. Birthweight adjusted mean difference aMD (95% confidence interval) 205 (46,365) and the odds of macrosomia adjusted odds ratio aOR 13.46 (2.32–77.99) significantly increased in obese women compared to those with a normal BMI. Birthweight aMD -139 (−215, −64) significantly decreased in women with inadequate GWG compared to those with recommended GWG, while SGA aOR 5.44 (1.36, 21.77) and prematurity aOR 3.55 (1.23, 10.21) increased. Low nutritional status and inadequate GWG remain a cause for concern in these women. The higher odds of macrosomia with increasing maternal BMI and higher odds of prematurity and small for gestational age infants with inadequate weight gain also require attention. Research and practice recommendations: Urgent attention is required by researchers, policy makers and decision-makers to facilitate development of culturally sensitive interventions to enhance nutritional status and health of mothers and babies, in an area known for its high incidence of maternal and neonatal mortality.

Background: Pre-pregnancy BMI (PP BMI) and gestational weight gain (GWG) are prominent anthropometric indicators for maternal nutritional status and are related to an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study aimed to determine the factors affecting total GWG, PP BMI and pregnancy outcomes among pregnant women in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Methods: This observational analysis was conducted among healthy women in the Vitamin D Pregnant Mother (VDPM) cohort study. A total of 195 pregnant women and their newborn babies were enrolled, and information regarding their socio-demographic characteristics, obstetric history, dietary intake and anthropometric data were assessed through direct interviews. Furthermore, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) 2009 guidelines were used to obtain the total GWG. Results: PP BMI was used to categorise the 195 pregnant women as overweight/obese (43.1%), normal (46.7%) and underweight (10.2%). There were 53.3%, 34.4% and 12.3% of women who had inadequate, adequate and excessive GWG, respectively. The multinomial logistic regression model indicated that overweight or obese women at the pre-pregnancy stage were 4.09 times more likely to have an excessive rate of GWG (AOR = 4.09, 95% CI: 1.38–12.12, p = 0.011) than those whose weight was normal. Furthermore, women with excessive GWG were 27.11 times more likely to have a baby with macrosomia (AOR = 27.11, 95% CI: 2.99–245.14) (p = 0.001) and those with inadequate GWG were 9.6 times more likely to give birth to a baby with low birth weight (LBW) (AOR = 9.60, 95% CI; 0.88–105.2) (p = 0.002). Conclusions: This study demonstrates that the malnutrition status prior to pregnancy and inadequate or excessive GWG status during pregnancy as significant risk factors for developing adverse pregnancy outcomes. These findings highlight the importance of providing information, preconception counselling and health education on weight management for healthy pregnancies.

Metabolic diseases have been shown to be associated with low vitamin D status; however, the findings have been inconsistent. Hence, the objective of our study was to investigate the relationship between vitamin D status and metabolic disease-related traits in healthy Southeast Asian women and examine whether this relationship was modified by dietary factors using a nutrigenetic study. The study included 110 Minangkabau women (age: 25–60 years) from Padang, Indonesia. Genetic risk scores (GRS) were constructed based on five vitamin D-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (vitamin D-GRS) and ten metabolic disease-associated SNPs (metabolic-GRS). The metabolic-GRS was significantly associated with lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations (p = 0.009) and higher body mass index (BMI) (p = 0.016). Even though the vitamin D-GRS had no effect on metabolic traits (p > 0.12), an interaction was observed between the vitamin D-GRS and carbohydrate intake (g) on body fat percentage (BFP) (p_interaction = 0.049), where those individuals who consumed a high carbohydrate diet (mean ± SD: 319 g/d ± 46) and carried >2 vitamin D-lowering risk alleles had significantly higher BFP (p = 0.016). In summary, we have replicated the association of metabolic-GRS with higher BMI and lower 25(OH)D concentrations and identified a novel interaction between vitamin D-GRS and carbohydrate intake on body fat composition.

Background: Cardiometabolic diseases are complex traits which are influenced by several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Thus, analysing the combined effects of multiple gene variants might provide a better understanding of disease risk than using a single gene variant approach. Furthermore, studies have found that the effect of SNPs on cardiometabolic traits can be influenced by lifestyle factors, highlighting the importance of analysing gene-lifestyle interactions. Aims: In the present study, we investigated the association of 15 gene variants with cardiometabolic traits and examined whether these associations were modified by lifestyle factors such as dietary intake and physical activity. Methods: The study included 110 Minangkabau women [aged 25–60 years and body mass index (BMI) 25.13 ± 4.2 kg/m²] from Padang, Indonesia. All participants underwent a physical examination followed by anthropometric, biochemical and dietary assessments and genetic tests. A genetic risk score (GRS) was developed based on 15 cardiometabolic disease-related SNPs. The effect of GRS on cardiometabolic traits was analysed using general linear models. GRS-lifestyle interactions on continuous outcomes were tested by including the interaction term (e.g. lifestyle factor*GRS) in the regression model. Models were adjusted for age, BMI and location (rural or urban), wherever appropriate. Results: There was a significant association between GRS and BMI, where individuals carrying 6 or more risk alleles had higher BMI compared to those carrying 5 or less risk alleles (P = 0.018). Furthermore, there were significant interactions of GRS with protein intake on waist circumference (WC) and triglyceride concentrations (P_interaction = 0.002 and 0.003, respectively). Among women who had a lower protein intake (13.51 ± 1.18% of the total daily energy intake), carriers of six or more risk alleles had significantly lower WC and triglyceride concentrations compared with carriers of five or less risk alleles (P = 0.0118 and 0.002, respectively). Conclusions: Our study confirmed the association of GRS with higher BMI and further showed a significant effect of the GRS on WC and triglyceride levels through the influence of a low-protein diet. These findings suggest that following a lower protein diet, particularly in genetically predisposed individuals, might be an effective approach for addressing cardiometabolic diseases among Southeast Asian women.