Background: Growing evidence is showing high levels of physical inactivity and disordered eating attitudes among young females in the United Arab Emirates. This is clearly concerning, but little is known about the activity level of those with disordered eating attitudes and their dieting behavior. This study examines the female Emirati college students’ disordered eating attitudes and its relation to exercise behavior.Method: A cross- sectional study using a validated and reliable questionnaire was conducted on 242 Emirati female students attending a public university in Dubai. Eating Attitudes Test- 26 (EAT26) was used to measure eating attitudes and the short International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was included to measure physical activity level. A systematic random sampling from a list of classes in the fall 2014 semester was used for recruitment. The university’s Research Ethics Committee approved the study and consents were obtained from participants. SPSS v.21 was used for data analysis. Chi-square test was used to compare frequencies. Significance level was set at 0.05.Results: The participants’ mean age and standard deviation (Mean± SD) was 19 ±1.3 years. 31.4% of the participants showed disordered eating attitudes. The percentage of participants engaged in at least one concerning behavior in the past six months was 43.8%. A membership in a health club was significantly related to disordered eating attitudes (p <0.01). A high level of physical activity was correlated with laxative use, over the counter supplements, and exercising for more than 60 minutes to control weight (p<0.05). Conclusion: There is a great need for intervention programs and policies to contain the level of abnormal eating attitudes and promote healthy level of physical activity among college students.
Obesity is a common and preventable Non-Communicable Disease that is of great importance. Population-based interventions are recognized to have a profound effect on improving health outcomes. One of these approaches includes the adoption of the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB) Tax.
Objectives: There were three objectives, 1) Explore the associations between age, gender, nationality, and SSB
consumption, 2) explore SSB consumption during Covid-19 lockdown and, 3) inform policy decision making.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey in the United Arab Emirates. We performed descriptive analysis and chi-square for independence to test the difference between the expected and the observed frequencies in one or more categories.
Results: Since the introduction of the SSB tax, we report no change in SSB consumption by age, gender, or nationality. Further analysis of the proportion of sugar intake per day was significant (P-value <0.001) by nationality. There was no significant change in SSB consumption by age, gender, or nationality during the Covid-19 lockdown. Further analysis within the group that reported a change in SSB consumption (80.5%) had a reduction in SSB consumption.
Conclusions: Age, gender, and nationality do not significantly impact SSB consumption, or during Covid-19 lockdown; thus, we accept the Null Hypothesis. Imposing a levy on frequently consumed SSB or revisiting levy by the gram, volume, or type of added sugar (or in combination) may prove more effective in reducing SSB consumption. Further research is needed to determine the extent income and education influence SSB consumption in the UAE and the enablers and barriers associated with SSB consumption.
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