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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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
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Consumer health information
Cross-sectional studies
Information seeking behavior
Original Research
Social networks
Weight control
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creator Alzaben, Abeer S
Alzaidy, Khawlah I
Alghamdi, Mona A
Alanzi, Raghad A
Aljohari, Rawan T
Alahaideb, Reema A
Benajiba, Nada
description 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 (
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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 (&lt;33 years old) and monthly income (&lt;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.</description><identifier>ISSN: 2055-2076</identifier><identifier>EISSN: 2055-2076</identifier><identifier>DOI: 10.1177/20552076221136939</identifier><language>eng</language><publisher>London, England: SAGE Publications</publisher><subject>Consumer health information ; Cross-sectional studies ; Information seeking behavior ; Original Research ; Social networks ; Weight control</subject><ispartof>Digital health, 2022-11, Vol.8, p.205520762211369-20552076221136939</ispartof><rights>The Author(s) 2022</rights><rights>The Author(s) 2022. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution – Non-Commercial License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ (the “License”). 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Manuscript content on this site is licensed under Creative Commons Licenses</rights><lds50>peer_reviewed</lds50><oa>free_for_read</oa><woscitedreferencessubscribed>false</woscitedreferencessubscribed><cites>FETCH-LOGICAL-c391t-7b2438ba1f93efc7681a81b5852e6a393dea00af4879b503b16da1ede274dc643</cites><orcidid>0000-0002-5533-7626</orcidid></display><links><openurl>$$Topenurl_article</openurl><openurlfulltext>$$Topenurlfull_article</openurlfulltext><thumbnail>$$Tsyndetics_thumb_exl</thumbnail><linktopdf>$$Uhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9638696/pdf/$$EPDF$$P50$$Gpubmedcentral$$Hfree_for_read</linktopdf><linktohtml>$$Uhttps://www.proquest.com/docview/2758349272?pq-origsite=primo$$EHTML$$P50$$Gproquest$$Hfree_for_read</linktohtml><link.rule.ids>230,314,727,780,784,885,21966,25753,27853,27924,27925,37012,37013,44590,44945,45333,53791,53793</link.rule.ids></links><search><creatorcontrib>Alzaben, Abeer S</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Alzaidy, Khawlah I</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Alghamdi, Mona A</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Alanzi, Raghad A</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Aljohari, Rawan T</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Alahaideb, Reema A</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Benajiba, Nada</creatorcontrib><title>The use of social media to search for weight reduction information: Assessment of the perception among a sample of Saudi adults</title><title>Digital health</title><description>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 (&lt;33 years old) and monthly income (&lt;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. 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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 (&lt;33 years old) and monthly income (&lt;5000 Saudi Arabian Riyal) (p ≤ 0.012). 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subjects Consumer health information
Cross-sectional studies
Information seeking behavior
Original Research
Social networks
Weight control
title The use of social media to search for weight reduction information: Assessment of the perception among a sample of Saudi adults
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