Assessing Use of Caloric Information on Restaurant Menus and Resulting Meal Selection in Saudi Arabia: Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior

Background: Beginning in 2019, the Saudi Government required restaurants to post caloric information on menus to facilitate informed meal choices by Saudi consumers. Purpose: To assess the impact on consumer food choices, leveraging TPB, related to caloric information on menus among restaurants in S...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of health education 2021-05, Vol.52 (3), p.154-163
Main Authors: Alkhathami, Areej Ali, Duraihim, Areej Turki, Almansour, Fay Fallaj, Alotay, Ghada Abdulaziz, Alnowaiser, Hadeel Sami, Aboul-Enein, Basil H., Chavarria, Enmanuel A., Benajiba, Nada
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Access to Information
Adults
Attitudes
Consumer Education
Consumers
Correlation
Decision Making
Dietetics
Dining Facilities
Eating behavior
Eating Habits
Education
Educational Practices
Food
Foreign Countries
Health Behavior
Individual Characteristics
Information processing
Intention
Multiple regression analysis
Predictor Variables
Restaurants
Self Control
Users (Information)
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Summary:Background: Beginning in 2019, the Saudi Government required restaurants to post caloric information on menus to facilitate informed meal choices by Saudi consumers. Purpose: To assess the impact on consumer food choices, leveraging TPB, related to caloric information on menus among restaurants in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study among adult Saudi consumers was conducted. Theoretically based on TPB, data were gathered on the use of caloric information on menus in restaurants across Riyadh. Results: Only 24.4% of participants utilized caloric information on menus to make a meal decision. Attitude (r = 0.65), and perceived behavioral control (r = 0.62) significantly correlated with intention. Multiple regression analysis showed that attitude (R 2  = 0.47, P = .05), and perceived behavioral control (R 2  = 0.11, P = .03) were significant predictors of using caloric information on menus for meal selection. Discussion: Among Saudi participants, the use of caloric information on menus was low in their meal decision. Interestingly, attitude was found to be a significant predictor of utilizing caloric information in making a meal decision. Translation to Health Education Practice: Consumer education should consider constructs of the TPB in intervention development and evaluation strategies to influence attitudes toward healthy eating behaviors and enhance the use of caloric information on restaurant menus in making informed meal decisions.
ISSN:1932-5037
2168-3751
DOI:10.1080/19325037.2021.1902885