Prevalence of Fast Food Intake among a Multi-Ethnic Population of Young Men and Its Connection with Sociodemographic Determinants and Obesity

Jozaa Z. AlTamimi, Naseem M. Alshwaiyat, Hana Alkhalidy, Nora A. AlFaris, Nora M. AlKehayez, Malak A. Alsemari and Reham I. Alagal ()
Additional contact information
Jozaa Z. AlTamimi: Department of Physical Sports Sciences, College of Education, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
Naseem M. Alshwaiyat: School of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Gong Badak Campus, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Kuala Nerus 21300, Terengganu, Malaysia
Hana Alkhalidy: Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid 22110, Jordan
Nora A. AlFaris: Department of Physical Sports Sciences, College of Education, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
Nora M. AlKehayez: Department of Physical Sports Sciences, College of Education, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
Malak A. Alsemari: Department of Medical Imaging—MRI, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAAUH), Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
Reham I. Alagal: Department of Health Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 22, 1-11

Abstract: Fast food is commonly consumed by young adults. Eating fast food is connected with the risk of obesity and other related diseases. The present study examines the prevalence of fast food intake in a diverse sample of young men. This cross-sectional study included 3600 young men (20–35 years) who resided in Riyadh, KSA. The frequency of fast food intake was assessed using a valid and reliable questionnaire. Weekly and daily intake of fast food were the two outcome variables adopted to assess the intake frequency. Weight and height were measured. Fast food was eaten by 88.8% and 50.1% of participants weekly and daily, respectively. Fast food intake was predicted by the nationality of participants. The highest prevalence of weekly fast food intake (99.7%) was observed among Saudi, Egyptian, and Indian participants, while the lowest rate was observed among Sudanese participants (48.6%). The highest and lowest rates of daily intake were seen among Filipino (83.4%) and Bangladeshi (6.3%) participants. Obesity was another predictor of fast food intake. Obese participants had a significantly higher odds ratio of weekly (OR = 2.89, p = 0.006) and daily (OR = 1.39, p = 0.021) fast food intake than non-overweight/non-obese participants. In conclusion, fast food is frequently consumed by young men in KSA. Our findings link the likelihood of fast food intake to sociodemographic determinants and obesity.

Keywords: fast food; multi-ethnic; young men; sociodemographic; obesity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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