Purpose There is currently limited data available on the Saudi population’s adoption of nutritional guidelines or on other factors influencing food purchasing behaviors. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of nutrition label use, explore factors that could influence food choices during grocery shopping and evaluate the association of these factors with the sociodemographic characteristics of mothers. Design/methodology/approach Mothers were recruited at a community event. They were requested to complete a questionnaire that assessed social and lifestyle characteristics as well as product features that influence food choices during grocery shopping. Findings The study included 157 mothers. The prevalence of label reading was high with 69% of participants always or mostly reading labels pre-purchase. Features that were most likely to “always” influence purchase choices included: product healthfulness (57.3%), children’s preference (45.9%), specific needs of a family member (38.9%). The feature “awareness campaigns and workshops” was found to be associated with both low and high-income groups. There was a poor understanding of what the “light” food label meant with only 37.6% answering correctly. Research limitations/implications Further research is needed with a higher sample size with diverse sociodemographic characteristics. Practical implications Saudi mothers are influenced by product healthfulness as well as children’s and family members’ needs when grocery shopping. There was a high prevalence of reading nutrition labels prepurchase. These findings can inform future public health policy on the main drivers for food purchasing decisions and the need for educational initiatives in Saudi Arabia. Originality/value The present research collates factors influencing food choices

No abstract

Background: it is known that knowledge of dietary guideline is linked to healthy eating habit. This study aims to investigate Saudi Mother’s knowledge of current dietary guidelines regarding food groups and portion sizes and to investigate its relation to the sociodemographic factors.Methods: This cross-sectional study using Nutrition Education Program to recruit 101 mother and child. Instructed on site- online survey were collected to measure the mother’s knowledge of dietary guideline and portion sizes. quantitative analysis using Chi-square and Kruksan-Wallis tests.Results: 29.1 % of the participants were aware of the MyPlate guidelines and 51.5 % said that they affected by healthy plate choices. Being married was significantly associated with knowing about the MyPlate Image (P= 0.004). Correct identification of food groups on the MyPlate Image and correct identification of serving sizes of food group was less than 50% for most food groups. A significantly greater percentage of those with a postgraduate education were accurate about the correct servings of fruit, vegetables and grains (P=0.049).Conclusions: Nutrition knowledge of food groups and serving sizes was poor in the sample of Saudi women. This research provides evidence that nutrition education is needed in the Saudi Arabia and the finding are relevant for future health promotion strategies. The study has also identified sociodemographic groups that possibly may need to be targeted with more attention in future nutrition education programs such as those with low income, lower education level and unmarried women.

No abstract