Endang Susilowati, Erna Susanti

The Relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and Total Cholesterol Levels in the Community of Malang City

Introduction

The relationship between body mass index (bmi) and total cholesterol levels in the community of malang city. Study reveals a strong link between BMI and total cholesterol levels in Malang City. Higher BMI correlates with increased cholesterol, crucial for public health prevention programs.

Abstract

Obesity is a health problem in many countries, both developed and developing, including Indonesia. The increasing trend indicates that obesity in Indonesia remains a serious public health issue. This study aimed to determine the relationship between BMI and total cholesterol levels in the community of Malang City, which may serve as a basis for policymaking in community-based non-communicable disease prevention programs. The study was conducted using a cross-sectional design on 30 respondents, selected through purposive random sampling. The results of the bivariate analysis showed a p-value < 0.05, indicating a significant relationship between BMI and total cholesterol levels. The correlation coefficient (ρ) was 0.738, suggesting a strong positive correlation between the two variables. This means that the higher a person’s BMI, the higher their total cholesterol levels tend to be in this population. In conclusion, this study demonstrates a significant and strong relationship between BMI and total cholesterol levels in the studied community. These findings support the hypothesis that excess body weight contributes to increased cholesterol levels and may serve as a basis for preventive and promotive interventions in the community.

Review

This study addresses a pertinent public health issue by investigating the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and total cholesterol levels within the community of Malang City. The authors aimed to provide local evidence for policymaking in non-communicable disease prevention, which is a commendable objective. The findings indicate a significant and strong positive correlation between BMI and total cholesterol levels, with a correlation coefficient of 0.738, suggesting that higher BMI is associated with elevated cholesterol levels in the studied population. This outcome reinforces well-established epidemiological links in a specific local context. However, the methodological approach presents several significant limitations that warrant attention. While the cross-sectional design is suitable for exploring associations, the study was conducted on an extremely small sample size of just 30 respondents. This small sample severely constrains the generalizability of the findings to the broader community of Malang City and raises concerns about the statistical power and the robustness of the reported p-value and correlation coefficient. Furthermore, the description of "purposive random sampling" is somewhat contradictory; typically, sampling is either purposive (non-random, based on specific criteria) or random. Clarification on the exact sampling methodology, particularly how randomness was integrated into a purposive selection, would be beneficial for methodological transparency. In conclusion, while the study reports a statistically significant and strong relationship between BMI and total cholesterol levels, aligning with global health literature, its practical utility as a basis for robust policymaking, as suggested by the authors, is severely limited by the small sample size. The findings should be interpreted with caution due to the methodological constraints. For future research to genuinely inform public health interventions in Malang City, it is imperative to conduct studies with substantially larger and more representative sample sizes, potentially incorporating more sophisticated sampling techniques and considering longitudinal designs to explore causality and confounding factors more thoroughly.

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