Predicting Healthy Eating Intentions in Saudi Adults

Abstract

Background: Despite the dietary guidelines for healthy eating (HE) and daily recommended food servings to promote healthy dietary patterns among the population in Saudi Arabia, the incidence of unhealthy eating has increased. Methods: We used the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a conceptual framework to explain and understand important factors affecting HE among Saudi adults. Six hundred forty-seven Saudi adults were recruited for an online survey. Results: The mean age of the subjects was 26.74 ± 8.21 years; the majority of subjects (74.1%) were young adults and were primarily female (60.1%). The correlation analysis indicated a positive correlation between all the TPB components and HE. The present study shows that positive attitudes and perceived behavioral control are the strongest predictors of HE intuition. The path analysis showed a good overall model fit (RMSEA = 0.034; CFI = 0.975; NFI = 974; GFI = 0.975) (χ 2 = 4.1964, df = 3, p = 0.45). Conclusion: Understanding the factors that influence behavior can improve dietary patterns and quality of life and can reduce the risks of chronic diseases.