Consumption of Traditional Food and Its Relationship With Overweight/Obese Among Adult Dayak Community in Kuching and Samarahan, Sarawak

Traditional foods are culturally significant yet understudied for health impact. With Malaysia’s rising rates of overweight and obesity, we examined whether traditional food intake is linked to excess body weight among Dayak adults in Kuching and Samarahan, Sarawak. A cross sectional survey was conducted in eight Dayak community villages (five in Kuching, three in Samarahan). Using cluster sampling, we interviewed 276 adults (41.7% men, 58.3% women) on sociodemographic and their traditional-food frequency together with anthropometric measurement such as height and weight. Associations between food-consumption patterns and BMI were assessed with chi-square tests and multiple logistic regression. Overall, 75.7% of participants were overweight/ obese. After adjustment, adults aged 18–42 years (AOR = 3.0) and 43–66 years (AOR = 2.4) and current alcohol drinkers (AOR = 1.9) were more likely to be overweight/obese than their respective reference groups. Traditional vegetables such as daun ubi tutok, midin, terung Dayak, cangkuk manis, and paku kubok were eaten about 10–11 times per month, whereas preserved items such as kasam fish, pork, or vegetables were consumed far less often. However, in our study we didn’t find significant link between frequency of traditional - food consumption with overweight/ obese respondents, yet prevalence of overweight/obese remains evident in Dayak communities. Further studies such as nutrient profile analyses and broader national nutrition surveys should capture both modern and traditional foods to clarify how both diets influence non-communicable disease risk among indigenous groups.