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

• Published in: Digital health 2022-11, Vol.8, p.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: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Consumer health information; Cross-sectional studies; Information seeking behavior; Original Research; Social networks; Weight control
• ISSN: 2055-2076; 2055-2076
• DOI: 10.1177/20552076221136939

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 (