Prevalence of Fast Food Intake among a Multi-Ethnic Population of Young Men and Its Connection with Sociodemographic Determinants and Obesity

Abstract

Fast food is commonly consumed by young adults. Eating fast food is connected with the risk of obesity and other related diseases. The present study examines the prevalence of fast food intake in a diverse sample of young men. This cross-sectional study included 3600 young men (20–35 years) who resided in Riyadh, KSA. The frequency of fast food intake was assessed using a valid and reliable questionnaire. Weekly and daily intake of fast food were the two outcome variables adopted to assess the intake frequency. Weight and height were measured. Fast food was eaten by 88.8% and 50.1% of participants weekly and daily, respectively. Fast food intake was predicted by the nationality of participants. The highest prevalence of weekly fast food intake (99.7%) was observed among Saudi, Egyptian, and Indian participants, while the lowest rate was observed among Sudanese participants (48.6%). The highest and lowest rates of daily intake were seen among Filipino (83.4%) and Bangladeshi (6.3%) participants. Obesity was another predictor of fast food intake. Obese participants had a significantly higher odds ratio of weekly (OR = 2.89, p = 0.006) and daily (OR = 1.39, p = 0.021) fast food intake than non-overweight/non-obese participants. In conclusion, fast food is frequently consumed by young men in KSA. Our findings link the likelihood of fast food intake to sociodemographic determinants and obesity.

Prevalence of fast-food intake among a multi-ethnic population of middle-aged men and connection with sociodemographic factors and obesity

“…[ 25 , 27 , 31 – 33 ] Compared with young men, middle-aged men had relatively lower rates of weekly (87.8% vs 88.8%) and daily (45.6% vs 50.1%) fast-food intake. [ 20 ] In another report, the rate of adults who consumed fast-food decreased with age: it was 44.9% among young adults (20–39 years), 37.7% among middle-aged adults (40–59 years), and 24.1% among older adults (60 years and over). [ 32 ] Moreover, fast-food consumption is commonly higher among men compared to women.…”

“…Data for the current study were gathered through a cross-sectional research project titled Relationship between Obesity, physical Activity and Dietary pattern among men living in the KSA. [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] It was conducted in Riyadh city. The participants were randomly recruited from the city's open venues using a stratified clustered sampling method based on geographic locations in Riyadh city because residents of different areas and neighborhoods in the city generally differ in their socioeconomic status and certain demographic characteristics.…”

Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Consumption in a Multi-Ethnic Population of Young Men and Association with Sociodemographic Characteristics and Obesity

“…Current data are from a cross-sectional research project called ROAD-KSA which was carried out from February to June 2019 and targeted young and middle-aged men [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Study subjects were randomly selected from public sites in Riyadh using a stratified clustered sampling method.…”

Fast food consumption and its relationship with oral health among US adults: A cross-sectional NHANES-based study

“…Frequent articles have discussed the prevalence of fast-food consumption ( Fryar et al, 2018 , Kant et al, 2015 , AlTamimi et al, 2022 , Alhashemi et al, 2022 ). Research shows that in the US between 2013 and 2016, over 36 % of adults consumed fast-food on a given day ( Fryar et al, 2018 ).…”