The use of social media to search for weight reduction information: Assessment of the perception among a sample of Saudi adults

Objective To assess the patterns, prevalence, and perceptions of the benefits and risks of using social media as a source of weight loss information among Saudi adults. Methods In this cross-sectional study, convenient snowball sampling was used to recruit Saudi adults. A self-report questionnaire c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Digital health Vol. 8; pp. 205520762211369 - 20552076221136939
Main Authors:	Alzaben, Abeer S, Alzaidy, Khawlah I, Alghamdi, Mona A, Alanzi, Raghad A, Aljohari, Rawan T, Alahaideb, Reema A, Benajiba, Nada
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	London, England SAGE Publications 01-11-2022 Sage Publications Ltd SAGE Publishing
Subjects:	Consumer health information Cross-sectional studies Information seeking behavior Original Research Social networks Weight control Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia weight loss cross-sectional study social media
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Objective To assess the patterns, prevalence, and perceptions of the benefits and risks of using social media as a source of weight loss information among Saudi adults. Methods In this cross-sectional study, convenient snowball sampling was used to recruit Saudi adults. A self-report questionnaire containing the following five sections was distributed: sociodemographic information, the pattern of social media use, use of social media to obtain weight loss information, perception of benefits, and perception of risks of using social media. A Chi-square test was used to identify differences according to participants' demographics. Results A total of 420 Saudi adults were included in the study. Most Saudi adults (43.3%) used social media for more than four hours a day, and 88.6% used WhatsApp. The prevalence of social media use for weight loss information was 89.2% among Saudi adults. Significant associations were found between the use of social media for weight loss information and age (<33 years old) and monthly income (<5000 Saudi Arabian Riyal) (p ≤ 0.012). Of the participants, 71.7% believed that social media is “always” or “frequently” an easily acceptable way to obtain weight loss information. Moreover, 36% of Saudi adults believed that weight loss information on social media could be scientifically inaccurate, and 61% believed that it could be posted solely for marketing and financial purposes. Conclusion The findings of this study show that Saudi adults have a high prevalence of social media use to obtain weight loss information. The benefits and risks of using social media as a source of weight loss information were also perceived to be high among Saudi adults.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	2055-2076 2055-2076
DOI:	10.1177/20552076221136939