Health behaviour among vegetarian and non-vegetarian in Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Abstract

This study aimed to compare the health behavior, self-reported health status and body mass index among vegetarians and non-vegetarians. The cross-sectional study was carried out in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. Participants were 60 vegetarians and 60 non-vegetarians adults aged from 18-59. Data were collected by using the questionnaire and analyzed by using SPSS version 16. Mann-Whitney U Test was used to analyze the comparison among the groups with continuous variables while Chi-square tabulation test was used to analyze the categorical variables. Results showed that for the dietary behavior, there were no significant different in term of the eating pattern between the groups. However, it was found that vegetarians always keep down the intake of salt, fat and sugar compared to non-vegetarians. For the food frequency score, vegetarians had a higher consumption of fruits ( 61. 7 5% vs 3 9 .31 %, respectively) and vegetables (81.64% vs 64.38%, respectively) than non vegetarians. In contrast, non-vegetarians had a higher consumption of animal products such as chicken than non-vegetarians (56.94% vs 12.50%, respectively). Moreover, non­ vegetarians also had a higher consumption of fast food and salted food than non­ vegetarians.