Perceived Effects of Socio-Economics and Social Media Variables on Body Mass Index in Saudi Young Adults

Abstract

This study aimed to measure the extent to which Saudi young adults used social media as a source for nutrition information and assess the perception of those networks on their dietary behaviors. The study also investigated the association between participants' socio-economic variables, social media variables, and body mass index. A cross-sectional survey was used and distributed via social media. This study included 228 participants (20-24 years old) who lived in AL-Ahssa Province. Over 50% of the participants were single females with bachelor's degrees. Among the participants, 70% were interested in increasing their nutrition knowledge, and 95% agreed that they obtained their nutrition information through social media. The participants surfed social media for at least one hour per day. Over 70% responded that exposure to social media had influenced their dietary behaviors (adopting new positive dietary behaviors, including selecting healthy foods and reading nutrition labels). Instagram was the most used application of all social media networks, with over 50% of the participants following 2-4 Instagram accounts related to nutrition. A majority of participants (78%) preferred obtaining nutrition information through visual methods, such as videos (49.1%) and infographic images (28.9%). Challenges to using nutrition information on social media were unproven or misleading topics and provided by non-nutrition experts. Social media may therefore be an effective tool to increase nutrition awareness and assist in disseminating nutrition intervention programs by nutrition educators and experts.