'An Investigative Study on University Students’ Knowledge and Attitudes towards the Food Dome in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia' by Alexander Woodman

Woodman, Alexander

Abstract

SPARC 2021 Poster No. 3

Background: Similar to global trends, Saudi students face significant lifestyle changes as they leave their home environment, enter university, and develop new habits. As a result of these changes, new health-related behaviours can be established, including unhealthy diets, low levels of physical activity, and sedentary behaviours. The Food Dome dietary guidelines were developed in 2012 to prevent the most prevalent diet-related diseases for the Arab countries. However, since then, no studies have explored knowledge and attitudes about the Food Dome dietary guidelines. This research aims to explore the relationships between weight, nutritional behaviours, and knowledge and attitudes in relation to the Food Dome among 18-25-years-old university students in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

Methods: The orientation for this research has been mixed-methods, including quantitative and qualitative research elements to address the research aims and objectives. In phase one of this study, the Arab Teens Lifestyle Study (ATLS) was used, and a new Food Dome questionnaire was developed and validated to analyse knowledge and attitudes about the Food Dome dietary guidelines.

Results: The knowledge analysis of the Food Dome questionnaire resulted in several emerging patterns. This included a lack of knowledge about Food Dome, food group consumption frequencies and knowledge of specific food groups serving sizes (e.g., cereals and their products, vegetable, meat). Attitude and behavioural analysis showed that almost half of the participants made the correct nutritional choices (as per Food Dome) despite a lack of knowledge and were mostly in the normal weight category.

• Online Publication Date: Jun 22, 2021
• Publication Date: Jun 22, 2021
• Deposit Date: Feb 6, 2025
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.17866/rd.salford.14822391.v1
• Publisher URL: https://salford.figshare.com/articles/poster/_An_Investigative_Study_on_University_Students_Knowledge_and_Attitudes_towards_the_Food_Dome_in_the_Eastern_Province_of_the_Kingdom_of_Saudi_Arabia_by_Alexander_Woodman/14822391
• Collection Date: Jun 22, 2021