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International Journal of Business and Management 1 (2): 01-06, 2017
e-ISSN 2590-3721
© RMP Publications, 2017
DOI: 10.26666/rmp.ijbm.2017.2.1
Innovative Technologies Preference for Slimming Treatment
Hasliza Hassan
1
, Abu Bakar Sade
2
and Muhammad Sabbir Rahman
3
1
Faculty of Management, Multimedia University, Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia,
2
Faculty of Business and Information Science, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
3
Department of Marketing and International Business, North South University, Dhaka,
Bangladesh
Abstract: Slimming centres are one of the popular places to reshape one’s body figure in Malaysia.
Technology innovations are being used by the slimming centres to provide slimming treatments. This
research looks at the preferred treatments that are commonly offered by slimming centres in Malaysia.
Primary data were collected through a survey questionnaire. The unit of analysis were those consumers who
had experienced consuming treatment in slimming centres. The data were collected based on a multiple
response questionnaire and analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). It was found
that the majority of consumers had experience of consuming more than one treatment in slimming centres
since the majority of slimming centres offer slimming treatments in the form of a package. Those slimming
centres that offer more treatments within a package might appear more attractive to consumers. This
research highlights the most common treatments that are normally experienced by the consumers.
Key words: Bodyweight, Malaysia, Obesity, Overweight, Slimming, Technology
INTRODUCTION
As a well-developing country, Malaysia has been
encouraging women’s empowerment in daily socio-
economic lifestyle. There is a continuous increase in
the percentage of women in the workforce and who
are earning a stable income for living. Nowadays,
with more purchasing power, women can spend
more money on their daily food. In line with the
continuous improvement in the education system in
Malaysia, more women are working in the corporate
sector as professionals. Due to a sedentary lifestyle,
especially by those women who are working in an
office environment, there is a continuous increase in
the percentage of overweight and obesity. This trend
has become more prevalent, with Malaysia being
acknowledged to have the fattest population in
Southeast Asia. Overall, the percentage of
overweight and obese women is higher than the
percentage of men with 48.6% and 43.8%,
respectively [1]. Due to the modern lifestyle with
better income, dining at restaurants has become a
culture in Malaysia. Although women are supposed
to consume fewer calories than men, 2,000 kcal and
2,500 kcal per day [2], respectively, no restaurants
in Malaysia customize the portion of food based on
gender. Instead, the majority of restaurants
encourage consumers to purchase more food in
bigger portions. Consequently, the behaviour of
excessive eating in the daily meals has somehow
made the whole nation fatter than before.
The media, especially women’s magazines, have a
strong influence in directing people’s perception of
the image of a perfect women’s figure [3]. The
majority of editors publish features on women’s
issues concerning fitness and health, and picture
slim women to encourage women to lose weight,
wear small size clothes and have small waistlines
[4]. The availability of such media content in a
highly overweight and obese population, especially
among women, has opened an opportunity for
slimming centres to grab the potential market. Due
to the influence of modern media, being oversized
can erode self-confidence and discourage someone
from moving forward, especially for those who are
working in the corporate sector. In addition, research
findings have shown that those who are overweight
or obese not only consider themselves as ugly and
are ashamed of their body figure, but also feel that
they are less effective in work performance [5].
Hasliza/ International Journal of Business and Management, 1(2) 2017, Pages: 01-06
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The Malaysian healthcare system is ranked third in
the world after France and Uruguay [6], which has
made Malaysia a hot spot for medical tourism within
the last five years. The most well-known medical
treatments are cosmetic surgery, dental and
dermatology. This is mainly due to the cost-
effectiveness and excellent quality standard that can
be provided [7]. The momentum from medical
tourism has spilled over to slimming treatment. In
addition to support from tourists, the slimming
centre industry has been growing in the Malaysian
market due to the continuous growth in the
percentage of overweight and obesity in the
population. Slimming centres provide slimming
treatments through the use of technology
innovations with assistance from the therapist to
reduce the amount of fat underneath the skin. The
effectiveness of the treatment is very much
dependent on the capability of the available
technology. Some treatments require consistent and
continuous sessions while others can show
immediate results. Normally, the investment in the
slimming treatment will determine the speed and the
extent of the results that can be obtained from the
treatment. The common treatments that are normally
provided by slimming centres are deep tissue
massage, electric pads, sauna, hot blanket,
liposuction and laser lipo. Findings have shown that
the majority of consumers who have experience of
consuming the slimming treatment programmes
provided by slimming centres are satisfied with the
results to lose weight. However, the effectiveness of
these results also depends on one’s daily diet; as
without continuous control of one’s diet, there is a
high chance of regaining the weight six to eight
months after the slimming treatment [5].
LITERATURE REVIEW
One of the ways to reduce body weight is through
deep tissue massage [8]. Deep tissue massage is a
technique that reaches deep layers of the muscle and
fascia, which is the connective tissue surrounding
the muscle, through firm pressure and slow strokes
[9]. Deep tissue massage can assist in the relief of
stress, overcome muscle pain, ease movement for
those who have injured their tissue, and reduce the
heart rate and blood pressure [10]. The most suitable
way to massage is by manual lymphatic drainage
massage, self-massage over the abdominal area, and
vigorous massage for cellulite prone areas [8],
especially the thighs and buttocks [11]. Massaging
is able to reduce cellulite and make the skin firm and
supple after losing weight. However, an improper
massage technique might lead to injury [12]. Since
not everyone can employ the proper technique to
massage, it would be a good initiative to have an
advanced massaging technology machine in a
slimming centre. Normally, the therapist in the
slimming centre will assist the massaging by using
innovative technology or a machine. Hence, it is
highly expected that the result will be more intense
compared to a manual hand massage. Due to the
effectiveness of massaging to reduce body weight,
there are many innovative tools on the market that
can be easily used at home. However, the result is
not exactly the same as following the treatment by a
professional therapist from a slimming centre.
Electric pads, also known as electrotherapy, are a
tool that uses electrical muscle stimulation (EMS)
[13]. EMS is also known as neuromuscular electrical
stimulation or electromyostimulation [14]. This
slimming machine is used to reduce cellulite,
puffiness, and toxins in the body to lose weight and
inches. The electric pads are placed over specific
body areas. Normally, approximately 16 to 25
electric pads are placed on the body areas. The
muscles will contract due to electrical impulses that
are set through the machine programme, which
usually lasts between 45 and 60 minutes. The
effectiveness of the electric pads is dependent on
how deep the stimulation is within the muscles [13].
The electric pad treatment is combined with diet,
massage and galvanic treatments to reshape specific
body areas [15; 16]. Due to the continuous evolution
of technology, some slimming centres use electric
pads to reshape the facial figure, which is known as
facial faradic [17].
With the continuous improvement of technology,
traditional sauna has been transformed to became
infrared sauna and is commonly available in most
slimming centres. Unlike traditional sauna’s that
warm up the air with heat and humidity, infrared
saunas use light to create the heat [18]. Infrared
saunas can assist one in reducing weight within a
short period of time. However, this treatment does
not change the percentage of fat, muscle strength or
overall fitness [19]. The infrared from saunas can
penetrate up to 7.5 cm under the skin to push away
the sweat of the body. Infrared saunas are able to
burn 400 to 600 calories within 30 minutes, and a
person of average fitness can sweat a pound during
one treatment. In addition to reducing weight,
infrared saunas are able to improve health through
the detoxifying effect, and improve the immune
system, skin health and elasticity. This treatment can
also reduce cellulite, heart problems, hypertension,
and muscle and joint pain [20]. This treatment is an
alternative for physical exercise [21] and is effective
in reducing body weight [22].
A hot blanket is an alternative treatment to saunas in
which the whole body is heated directly. Since hot
blankets can provide direct heat to the body, this
treatment is more effective than a conventional
sauna and allows the consumers to breathe more
easily. This treatment usually takes approximately
Hasliza/ International Journal of Business and Management, 1(2) 2017, Pages: 01-06
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30 minutes, and the infrared can penetrate the skin
to about 2 cm to 7 cm. In addition to burning fat, hot
blankets can also assist in increasing the
metabolism, and enhancing the immune system,
absorption of nutrients and blood circulation [23].
Further findings indicate that the hot blanket
treatment can also enhance cardiovascular health,
relieve stress, control cellulite, and enhance the
appearance of the skin [24].
Liposuction is the easiest way to remove substantial
amounts of fat in the body [25; 26]. Consumers are
given a general anaesthetic in advance and the
technique to suction the fat depends on the
accumulation of fat underneath the skin [27]. Due to
the complexity of the treatment, only a qualified and
trained surgeon should be allowed to handle this
treatment [28]. Although this treatment is effective,
the treatment leaves an obvious scar. In addition to
the obvious cosmetic effects, liposuction can change
the body composition, as well as the hormonal
balance and psychology of the consumers [25].
Findings have proven that liposuction treatment can
minimize cardiovascular risks [29]. Nevertheless,
consumers still need to control their daily diet after
the treatment to maintain their body figure
appearance. Without proper control of the diet, the
result of liposuction will not be sustainable in the
long term [30].
Laser Lipo is an alternative to traditional liposuction
[31] and breaks up fat using a laser without any
harsh suction. Similar to the traditional liposuction,
this treatment is more suitable for reducing the size
of specific parts of the body, such as the hips, waist,
and thighs. However, unlike other treatments, as this
treatment is unable to enhance the metabolism, it is
not suitable for people who are obese or pregnant.
The treatment usually takes between 20 and 40
minutes. Consumers who do not drink sufficient
water might feel tired, woozy or sick after the
treatment [32]. Only a qualified therapist in a
slimming centre can offer this treatment to avoid the
consumer’s skin from being burned by the laser [33].
Modern women who are willing to spend on their
body figure appearance might perceive laser lipo as
a better option than other treatments since it can
provide immediate results without extreme pain or
scarring of their skin.
METHODOLOGY
A cross-sectional study was conducted to discover
what kind of technology treatment is normally
preferred by those who have experience in
consuming slimming centre treatments. Due to this,
the unit of analysis for this research is those people
who have experience as well as those who are
currently experiencing treatment from slimming
centres within three main states – Kuala Lumpur,
Selangor and Negeri Sembilan – in Malaysia. The
questionnaire was set in a multiple response survey
format where the respondents were given the option
to choose more than one treatment in the slimming
centre. The respondents were given a brief
explanation about the research and questionnaire in
advance to ensure they could clearly understand the
purpose of the research and the questionnaire. None
of the respondents were forced to participate to
ensure the precision of the outcome. A token of
appreciation was given to those who were willing to
participate in the research survey. Overall, 308 data
were used for descriptive analysis by means of
Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).
Since this research only focuses on six treatments,
the data used for analysis should be considered as
sufficient with the formula of 50 + 8k = N where 50
+ 8(6) = 98 [34].
RESULTS ANALYSES AND DISCUSSION
All of the respondents for this research are women
because the majority of consumers in the slimming
centres are women. Although the data collection
targeted women above the age of 20, the majority of
the respondents are aged between 35 and 39 years
(29.2%) followed by between 30 and 34 years
(25.3%). An average number of respondents are
between the ages of 25 and 29 years old (12.7%),
above 45 years old (12%), and between 40 and 44
years old (11%). Only a minor percentage of
respondents are between the ages of 20 and 24 years
old (6.8%). In line with this, the majority of the
respondents have an individual monthly income in
the range of RM 5,001 to RM 7,500, while the
average household income is in the range of
RM10,001 to RM 15,000. The majority of the
respondents are career women working as
government servants, private sector employees,
entrepreneurs, and charity organization employees.
Only ten of the respondents are housewives, and
eight of the respondents are students. In general, the
majority of the slimming centre consumers are
career women above 25 years old of age and have a
stable individual and monthly household income.
The main reason for this is probably because it
requires high investment to consume the slimming
treatments offered at slimming centres.
For each of the innovative technology treatments,
the respondents were requested to confirm whether
they had or had not experienced consuming any of
the six specified treatments in slimming centres –
deep tissue massage, electric pads, sauna, hot
blanket, liposuction or laser lipo. To further
determine how often the consumers had consumed
the specific treatment, the experience was further
categorized into rarely, sometimes, frequently and
Hasliza/ International Journal of Business and Management, 1(2) 2017, Pages: 01-06
4
always. The summary of the findings is shown in
Table 1. The total combined percentage of
respondents who had experienced and never had
experienced consuming each innovative slimming
technology is not exactly 100% because some data
are missing. Missing data is unavoidable because the
data were collected manually through a survey
questionnaire. Nevertheless, the number of missing
data is minimal, between 1% and 3.3%, for each
treatment. This percentage is acceptable for
quantitative statistical analysis, which is normally in
the range of 15% to 20% [35]. Accordingly, the
available data collection was used for the following
descriptive analysis since the missing data would not
affect the overall research analysis.
Slimming centres provide a variety of treatments for
consumers to choose and experience. Based on the
findings, this research found that the majority of
respondents have experienced consuming saunas.
This is represented by 80.2% of the total respondents
(247 respondents). Also, a high number of
respondents have experienced consuming a hot
blanket, which is represented by 75.0% (231
respondents) and electric pads, which is represented
by 73.4% (226 respondents). Among the
respondents, 70.1% (216 respondents) have
experienced consuming deep tissue massage, while
only 65.6% (202 respondents) have experienced
using laser lipo. Only 55.5% of the respondents (171
respondents) have experienced using liposuction.
Overall, the percentage of respondents who have
experienced consuming treatments in slimming
centres is within the range of 55.5% to 80.2%. The
most common treatments that are provided and
consumed in the slimming centre are sauna and hot
blanket. The technology that uses heat to burn fat
seems to be highly acceptable by society since the
majority might perceive that burning fat requires
them to use heat to sweat. Electric pads and deep
tissue massage seem to be moderately accepted.
These two treatments use vibration technology to
burn fat. Although vibration technology does not fit
the common expectation of society to burn fat
through heat and sweat, this research found that a lot
of consumers have experienced consuming these
types of treatment. The number of respondents who
have experienced consuming laser lipo is low
because laser treatment is normally more costly than
other common treatments. Nevertheless, this is a
more advanced technology than liposuction where
the consumers can see the results almost
immediately after the treatment without any harsh
suction pain or scarring after the treatment.
The number of respondents who have experienced
using liposuction is much lower than other
treatments because not all slimming centres are able
to provide this treatment. In addition, normally, all
the treatments in slimming centres are provided by
therapists, whereas only qualified and trained
surgeons can provide liposuction services to the
consumers. Hence, not all slimming centres offer
this treatment and the cost for liposuction is
normally far higher than other treatments.
Nevertheless, liposuction treatment is able to
provide immediate results. Although the percentage
of respondents who have experienced consuming
liposuction treatment is the lowest, more than half of
the total number of respondents have consumed this
service. This shows that there is still a high potential
market for liposuction treatment since there are
consumers who do not mind spending extra for such
treatment.
No specific treatment appears to be preferred by
consumers since the majority have consumed more
than one treatment in the slimming centres. One of
the main reasons why the majority of the
respondents have experienced consuming a variety
of treatments offered by slimming centres is because
most slimming centres normally offer their services
as a package in which the consumer will experience
more than one treatment per package within a course
of treatment. The treatments might also be in
rotation depending on the number of treatments
taken within a package. Hence, it would be more
worthwhile to provide a wider variety of treatments
within one package as an attraction for the
consumers since different treatments might have a
different impact on reshaping the body figure and
expose the consumers to more treatment experiences
in the slimming centre. In addition, providing a
variety of treatments within a package gives an
impression to the consumers that their investment is
worth more since different treatments use different
technology. The more slimming treatments a
slimming centre is able to provide also acts as an
indicator of its reliability and capability
Hasliza/ International Journal of Business and Management, 1(2) 2017, Pages: 01-06
5
Table 1: Treatment Experience in Slimming Centre
Treatment /
Experience
Never
Rarely
Sometimes
Frequently
Always
Total
Deep tissue
massage
89
28.9%
216
70.1%
305
99%
40
13.0%
89
28.9%
49
15.9%
38
12.3%
Electric pads
77
25.0%
226
73.4%
303
98.4%
56
18.2%
76
24.7%
76
24.7%
18
5.8%
Sauna
58
18.8%
247
80.2%
305
99%
27
8.8%
74
24%
69
22.4%
77
25.0%
Hot blanket
67
21.8%
231
75.0%
298
96.7%
37
12.0%
73
23.7%
79
25.6%
42
13.6%
Liposuction
130
42.2%
171
55.5%
301
97.7%
41
13.3%
53
17.2%
47
15.3%
30
9.7%
Laser Lipo
98
31.8%
202
65.6%
300
97.3%
42
13.6%
76
24.7%
50
16.2%
34
11.0%
CONCLUSION
Although Malaysia is already ranked high globally
for its healthcare services, the demand for more
advanced slimming treatment technologies seems to
be lagging. Due to the modern lifestyle and increase
in the rate of overweight and obesity in Malaysia,
there is a high possibility that the market opportunity
for slimming centres will grow over the next few
years. The target market for slimming centres is
more streamlined to those career women with a
stable income who need to spend time to rest, but, at
the same time, prefer to be personally treated to
reduce their body weight and reshape their body
figure. In line with this, slimming centres provide
the ideal venue for consumers to pamper themselves
in a relaxing spa environment and obtain the desired
body figure without too much hassle, because almost
every treatment uses slimming technology
innovations with assistance from a therapist. In line
with the increasing number of women in the
workforce, there is a high chance for the
sustainability of slimming centres in the market. The
availability of slimming centres is somehow
empowering women to develop their socio-
economic stability.
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