BackgroundDuring the last few decades, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) experienced rapid socio-cultural changes caused by the accelerating economy in the Arabian Gulf region. That was associated with major changes in the food choices and eating habits which, progressively, became more and more "Westernized". Such "a nutritional transition" has been claimed for the rising rates of overweight and obesity which were recently observed among Saudi population. Therefore, the objectives of the current work were to 1) determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in a sample of male college students in KSA and 2) determine the relationship between the students' body weight status and composition and their eating habits.MethodsA total of 357 male students aged 18-24 years were randomly chosen from College of Health Sciences at Rass, Qassim University, KSA for the present study. A Self-reported questionnaire about the students' eating habits was conducted, and their body mass index (BMI), body fat percent (BF%), and visceral fat level (VFL) were measured. Data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software, and the Chi-square test was conducted for variables.ResultsThe current data indicated that 21.8% of the students were overweight and 15.7% were obese. The total body fat exceeded its normal limits in 55.2% of the participants and VFL was high in 21.8% of them. The most common eating habits encountered were eating with family, having two meals per day including breakfast, together with frequent snacks and fried food consumption. Vegetables and fruits, except dates, were not frequently consumed by most students. Statistically, significant direct correlations were found among BMI, BF% and VFL (P < 0.001). Both BMI and VFL had significant inverse correlation with the frequency of eating with family (P = 0.005 and 0.007 respectively). Similar correlations were also found between BMI and snacks consumption rate (P = 0.018), as well as, between VFL and the frequency of eating dates (P = 0.013).ConclusionsOur findings suggest the need for strategies and coordinated efforts at all levels to reduce the tendency of overweight, obesity and elevated body fat, and to promote healthy eating habits in our youth.

BackgroundSaudi Arabia has passed through lifestyle changes toward unhealthy dietary patterns such as high fast food consumption. Adolescents and young adults, particularly girls, are the main groups exposed to and affected by these adverse eating behaviors.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to examine the trends of fast food consumption among adolescent and young adult Saudi girls living in Riyadh, and to compare between them.DesignIn a cross-sectional survey, 127 adolescent Saudi girls (13–18 years) and 69 young adult Saudi girls (19–29 years) were randomly recruited to participate in this study. Weight, height, waist circumference, and hip circumference were measured using standardized methods. Twenty-four-hour diet recall and a face-to-face interview food questionnaire were performed.ResultsMost of the participants had adequate intake of protein, riboflavin, iron, and sodium, but exhibited low intake for several other nutrients. Among study participants, 95.4% consume restaurants’ fast food and 79.1% eat fast food at least once weekly. Burgers and carbonated soft drinks were the main kinds of fast food meals and beverages usually eaten by girls. Adolescent girls who usually ate large portion sizes of fast food had significantly higher mean waist circumference and hip circumference. Participants eat fast food primarily for enjoying the delicious taste, followed by convenience. Restaurants’ hygiene and safety standards were the main concern regarding fast food for 62.2% of girls. Finally, international restaurants were preferable by participants to buy fast food compared with local restaurants (70.9% vs. 29.1%).ConclusionOur findings provide evidence on the high prevalence of fast food consumption among Saudi girls, suggesting an urgent need for community-based nutrition interventions that consider the trends of fast food consumption and targeted eating behaviors of adolescent and young adult girls.

Obesity is a risk factor for several comorbidities and complications, including iron deficiency anemia. Iron deficiency anemia is a serious global public health problem, with a worldwide prevalence. The high prevalence of obesity in combination with iron deficiency incidence observed in different age and sex categories suggests an association between obesity and iron status. Obesity may disrupt iron homeostasis, resulting in iron deficiency anemia. The association between obesity and iron deficiency may be due to increased hepcidin levels mediated by chronic inflammation. Hepcidin is a small peptide hormone that functions as a negative regulator of intestinal iron absorption. Significant body weight loss in overweight and obese individuals decreases chronic inflammation and serum hepcidin levels, resulting in improved iron status due to increased iron absorption. However, further randomized controlled trials are required to confirm this effect. Contents 1. Introduction 2. Iron metabolism 3. Hepcidin and iron homeostasis 4. Obesity and low-grade chronic inflammation 5. Association between overweight and obesity, and iron status 6. Effect of weight loss on iron status 7. Future research and clinical implications 8. Conclusions

ObjectiveRegular physical activity is essential for lifelong optimal health. Contrarily, physical inactivity is linked with risk for many chronic diseases. This study was conducted to evaluate the physical activity levels and factors associated with physical inactivity among a multi-ethnic population of young men living in Saudi Arabia.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study involving 3,600 young men (20–35 years) living in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Sociodemographic and physical activity data were collected from subjects by face-to-face interviews. Physical activity characteristics were evaluated by using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. Weight and height were measured following standardized methods, then body mass index was calculated.ResultsPhysical inactivity was reported among 24.9% of study subjects. The lowest and highest rates of physical inactivity were reported among subjects from the Philippines (14.0%) and Saudi Arabia (41.5%), respectively. There is a high variation in daily minutes spent on physical activities related to work, transport, recreation, vigorous and moderate-intensity physical activities and sedentary behaviors among study participants based on their nationalities. Nationality, increasing age, longer residency period in Saudi Arabia, living within a family household, having a high education level, earning a high monthly income, and increasing body mass index were significantly associated with a higher risk of physical inactivity among the study participants.ConclusionPhysical inactivity prevalence is relatively high among a multi-ethnic population of young men living in Saudi Arabia. The findings confirmed notable disparities in the physical activity characteristics among participants from different countries living in Saudi Arabia.

Nurses have a great contact with hospitalized patients and play an important role in their nutritional management. The current research is a cross-sectional survey, carried out in Al-Hussein Hospital, King Hussein Medical Center, Amman, Jordan, to study the level of therapeutic nutritional knowledge of Jordanian nurses. Two hundred and fifty registered nurses were invited to participate in this study; all of them were Jordanian of the Arabian ethnicity and were selected by simple random sampling method. Of those, two hundred nurses agreed to participate giving a response rate 80%. Data were collected by self-reported questionnaire of 31-items which its validity and reliability were established. We found that the mean correct-response rate for therapeutic nutritional knowledge of Jordanian nurses was suboptimal (58.8%). Moreover, the therapeutic nutritional knowledge related to diabetes (71.6%) was relatively higher than those related to obesity (59.0%) and cardiovascular diseases (54.9%). Woman nurses scored significantly higher correct-response rate for cardiovascular diseases-related therapeutic nutritional knowledge than men (56.6% vs. 51.9%). Twenty out of 31 questions were answered correctly by more than 50% of the nurses. The findings suggest an urgent need to improve the curricula of undergraduate nursing courses regarding the nutrition issues and to promote postgraduate continuing educational programs concerning therapeutic nutrition.