Prevalence of overweight and obesity among Kuwaiti adolescents and the perception of body weight by parents or friends.

OBJECTIVE: Recently, the State of Kuwait has witnessed a steady rise in the prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents. The present study aims to provide an update on the rate of overweight or obesity among Kuwaiti adolescents and examines the associations between adolescents' overweight/obesity levels and their perception of body weight as seen by parents or friends. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Kuwaiti secondary schools and included adolescents between the ages of 15 and 18 years, using a multistage stratified random sampling method. Body weight and height were measured. A specifically designed self-report questionnaire was used to assess parents' and friends' perceptions of an adolescent's body weight. RESULTS: A total of 706 adolescents were included the study. The prevalence of overweight or obesity among Kuwaiti adolescents reached nearly 50%, with males (54.3%) having a significantly higher overweight or obesity percentage than females (44.6%). No significant difference in the prevalence of obesity relative to age, from 15 to 18 years, was found. In addition, logistic regression analysis, adjusted for age and gender, revealed that adolescents perceived their parents (p = 0.011 and p < 0.001) or friends (p = 0.002 and p < 0.001) as more likely to classify their weight as overweight or obese, respectively. CONCLUSION: Overweight or obesity levels appear to be high among Kuwaiti adolescents, and appears to have reached a plateau recently. Efforts to combat obesity and promote physical activity and healthy nutrition are needed. Future studies should seek to identify important moderators of parental and social underestimation/overestimation of children's overweight or obesity.

Rheological characteristics of wheat-chickpea composite flour doughs and effect of Amla powder (Phyllanthus emblica L.) addition on the functional properties of bread.

Bread is a staple food for majority of the people worldwide, but it has a high glycemic effect. Substituting wheat flour partly with chickpea flour and the presence of bran is suggested to improve the glycemic effect of bread; however, the non-gluten substances in wheat flour adversely affect dough rheology. The addition of amla powder was tested on the rheological properties of wheat-chickpea flour composite doughs; also, the physical and sensory qualities of bread made thereof. The results showed that when the level of replacement of refined white flour (WF) or whole wheat flour (WWF) with chickpea flour was increased from 0 to 40%, it significantly affected the rheological properties and functionality of dough. A decreased farinograph water absorption, higher mixing tolerance index (i.e., weakening of dough), decreased resistance to extension, and lower ratio numbers were obtained with some differences between WF and WWF at the higher level of chickpea flour substitution. The addition of amla powder to WF: chickpea flour (60:40) blends reduced the angle of ascending (from 7.0 ± 0.7 to 6.0 ± 0.7) and angel of descending (from 3.2 ± 0.21 to 2.4 ± 0.2), indicating the slight tightening of gluten leading to dough breakdown. The addition of amla powder improved the mixing characteristics of the composite flour doughs, as well as the physical and sensory qualities of the bread. In conclusion, amla powder can help overcome the deleterious impact of adding chickpea flour to WF or WWF for producing good quality pan bread for people with type-2 diabetes.

Consumer prevalence, attitude and dietary behavior of online food delivery applications users in Kuwait.

The objective of this research was to estimate the prevalence, attitude and dietary behavior of online food delivery application users in Kuwait. A survey of 1045 participants found that 87.6% of them have ordered food online by mobile app. Talabat was the most common food delivery application used among participants in Kuwait. Fast food was the most commonly ordered category followed by sweets and pastries. The most important attribute of electronic ordering is speed of delivery followed by ease of ordering. Around 73.6% of the participants use food apps to order dinner, and 76.4% order fast food at late night. The majority of online food delivery application users in Kuwait have unhealthy dietary practices. The results emphasize a serious need for implementing a suitable intervention for stimulating healthy eating behaviors among food delivery application users in Kuwait.

Cross-cultural differences in food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices of food handlers working at restaurants in Kuwait.

This study was conducted to assess the level of food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices among 273 Filipinos, Egyptians and Indians food handlers in Kuwait restaurants. The information was obtained through face to face interviews and questionnaires covering four sections: demographic characteristics, food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices. The results show that Filipinos, Egyptians and Indians food handlers had sufficient food safety knowledge particularly in the personal hygiene area. Filipinos were the best answering questions related to cross contamination and sanitation (p < 0.05). Egyptians and Indians lacked the knowledge about cross-contamination and sanitation, time and temperature control for food, and food pathogens.  For attitudes, results show that Filipinos had excellent positive attitudes followed by Indians then Egyptians (p < 0.05). The three nationalities generally show very good practices mainly in personal hygiene. However, only 56 % of Egyptians and 57% of Indians avoided keeping cooked food in the temperature danger zone until served (p < 0.05). The study recommends that some aspects associated to cross-contamination, food pathogens and time and temperature control need to be stressed especially for Egyptians and Indians food handlers. Continuous food safety training for food handlers in Kuwait should become compulsory to reinforce food handlers in the areas which seem to be lacking.

Survey of nutrition knowledge of Kuwaiti health influencers in social media.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine whether nutrition knowledge differs between male and female Kuwaiti health influencers in social media (Instagram). DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the nutrition knowledge of male and female Kuwaiti health influencers in social media (Instagram) utilizing a multiple-choice questionnaire with sixteen questions. SETTING: Kuwaiti health influencers in social media (Instagram). SUBJECTS: One hundred Kuwaiti health influencers (fifty males; fifty females) in social media (Instagram). RESULTS: A response rate of 70% was accomplished (thirty-two males; thirty-eight females). The correctly answered questions had a mean percentage of 60% with averages of 65% and 60% for correct responses by males and females, respectively (P=0.039). Only, two questions demonstrated significantly different scores for male and female groups (P<0.05). The two age groups (<30 years; ≥30 years) displayed mean percentage scores of 61% and 63%, respectively (P=0.081). CONCLUSIONS: Kuwaiti health influencers in social media were unable to provide accurate information concerning common health problems including obesity, hypertension, and osteoporosis.

Impact of nutritional knowledge on dietary behaviors of students in Kuwait University.

Increasing nutritional knowledge is an important component of broader societal efforts to address the high prevalence of nutrition-related diseases. In Kuwait, university students are a critical target group since many of their lifestyle behaviors are shaped during college and may continue throughout their life. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of nutritional knowledge on the dietary behavior of 700 undergraduate students of Kuwait University. Nutritional knowledge and dietary behavior of Kuwait University undergraduate students were evaluated using paper-based questionnaires to assess lifestyle and nutrition behavioral changes. Students who experienced better dietary habits had better nutritional knowledge. However, the strength of the association was considered weak (r=0.229). The findings suggest that nutritional knowledge can slightly assist in adopting healthier eating habits, which may reduce nutrition-related diseases. Therefore, nutrition education programs and nutritional activities in classes should be recommended among students to promote healthy lifestyles.

The effect of temperature and storage time on the migration of antimony from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into commercial bottled water in Kuwait.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a safe material used widely in manufacturing plastic water bottles. However, recent studies have linked PET with Antimony which poses both acute and chronic health effects. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of storage and temperature on the amount of antimony leached to the bottled water. Three brands of bottled water were used for this analysis. Samples were stored at 25oC for three months to examine the storage duration on antimony levels. To examine the effect of temperature on antimony levels, samples were stored at -5oC, 25oC and 50oC for 24 hours, respectively. To investigate the duel effect of both temperature and time on antimony levels, samples from one brand were heated at 50 oC for 7 days. Antimony analysis was conducted using a Thermo Electron Element 2 single-collector double-focusing magnetic sector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). Results showed that there were no statistical differences of antimony concentrations before and after storage at room temperature. Heating samples to 50 oC increased the antimony concentrations to 8.530 ppb and 16.8 ppb in 24 hours and 7 days, respectively. Although the range of Antimony concentrations in the bottled waters is well below WHO maximum contaminant level if stored at room temperature, inappropriate and prolonged storage of plastic bottles may lead to exceed the maximum contaminant level of 6 ppb. The data collected from this study can be useful to plastic bottle manufacturers for setting a safe storage temperature for PET bottles.

Relative contribution of physical activity, sedentary behaviors, and dietary habits to the prevalence of obesity among Kuwaiti adolescents.

BACKGROUND: The increasing rate of obesity among Kuwaiti adolescents is associated with immediate and long term-risks to their health and well-being. OBJECTIVE: To update data on the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Kuwaiti adolescents and to examine the relative contribution of selected lifestyle factors to overweight and obesity in this population. METHODS: The present study is part of the Arab Teens Lifestyle Study (ATLS). A total of 906 adolescents (463 boys and 443 girls) aged between 14 and 19 years were selected from Kuwaiti schools by a multistage stratified randomization process. A validated questionnaire was used to collect data on physical activity, sedentary lifestyle, and eating habits. The International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) cutoff values for adolescents under 18 years of age were used to define overweight and obesity. Total energy expenditure was calculated using metabolic equivalent-minutes per week. A general linear model was used to establish the proportion of the variance (expressed in partial eta squared) in excess weight attributable to differences in eating habits and physical activity. RESULTS: The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 50.5% in boys and 46.5% in girls. Among boys, moderate and vigorous activities were found to be significantly negatively associated with overweight and obesity (p < .05), whereas in girls, only those with not less than moderate activities were negatively associated with overweight and obesity (p < .05). Sedentary behaviors, time spent watching television, and time spent working on the computer were not significantly associated with obesity in either sex. Consumption of breakfast, vegetables, and fast foods (boys and girls) and potatoes, cakes and doughnuts, and sweets (girls only) was significantly associated with overweight and obesity (p < .05). In general, the partial eta square explained by physical activity was less than 3.6% in boys compared with less than 1.0% in girls, and eating habits explained less than 1.8% in boys compared with 2.5% in girls. CONCLUSIONS: Physical activity explains a greater proportion of variation in body mass index than do eating habits, particularly in boys. Eating habits explain a greater proportion of variation in body mass index than does physical activity in girls. Prospective studies are needed to clarify the relative effects of sedentary behaviors on overweight in adolescents.

Survey of nutrition knowledge of physicians in Kuwait.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present study was to determine whether nutrition knowledge differs between male and female physicians working in Kuwait City, Kuwait. DESIGN: The study employed a cross-sectional analysis of physician's nutrition knowledge by using a sixteen-item multiple-choice questionnaire. SETTING: Governmental hospitals in Kuwait City, Kuwait. SUBJECTS: One hundred Kuwaiti physicians (fifty males; fifty females) working in Kuwait City, Kuwait. RESULTS: A response rate of 73% was achieved (forty males; thirty-three females). The mean percentage of correctly answered questions was 60 %. The male and female physicians averaged 56% and 65% of correct responses, respectively (P50?042). However, only for two questions did male and female physicians' scores differ significantly (P,0?05). The two age groups (,40 years; $40 years) had equal mean total correct scores (60 %, P50?935). Physicians' knowledge was greatest for topics that have received a great deal of media coverage in Kuwait. Most (70 %) of the physicians described their nutrition knowledge as 'moderate'. CONCLUSIONS: Physicians in Kuwait gave inaccurate information regarding common problems in Kuwaitis such as obesity, hypertension and osteoporosis. In view of the public's perception of the role of the physician in providing nutrition advice, it is imperative that nutrition and diet training be part of continuing medical education to bridge these deficiencies in physicians' knowledge.