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Azhar W, Aljabiri S, Bushnaq T, Azzeh FS, Alyamani RA, Alkholy SO, Alhassani WE, Abusudah WF, Qadhi A, Bukhari HM, Bakr EH, Ghafouri K. Knowledge, attitudes, and factors associated with vegetarianism in the Saudi Population. BMC Public Health 2023; 23:688. [PMID: 37046300 PMCID: PMC10100114 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-15636-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 04/09/2023] [Indexed: 04/14/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In recent years, there has been great interest in the dietary practices of vegetarians in addition to an increasing awareness of the potential benefits of vegetarian diets. However, there are insufficient data on the spread of vegetarianism in Arab countries. The aim of this study was to investigate knowledge and attitudes about vegetarianism and associated factors in the Saudi population and to understand the reasons for its growing prevalence. METHOD This is a cross-sectional study began in May 2020 and ended in September 2020. Researchers distributed the questionnaire electronically through social media. Data were collected electronically and exported to Excel by the researchers .The electronic questionnaire comprised three sections: sociodemographic questions, reasons for following a vegetarian diet, and beliefs and knowledge about vegetarianism. RESULTS There were 3,035 responses, of which 80.2% of respondents were female and 19.8% were male. Participant were aged 18-65. Vegetarians represented 37.5% (15.7% semivegetarians, 8.1% pescovegetarians, 64.3% lacto-ovo-vegetarians, and 11.3% vegans), and the rest were nonvegetarians. The majority of the vegetarian participants (92.9%) had a low vegetarianism knowledge level. Health issues, followed by ethical and environmental concerns, were the most common motivators for adopting a vegetarian diet; these reasons were cited by 72.5%, 59.3%, and 47.9% of participants, respectively. Factors associated with increased vegetarianism were engaging in exercise for half an hour to two hours, while factors associated with decreased vegetarianism were male, aged 51-64 years, being married, having a higher education, working in the health sector, being a housewife, and having an income between 5,000 and 10,000 SR/month. CONCLUSION Vegetarianism appears to be a growing phenomenon among the Saudi population. Increased awareness of health issues and the desire to live a healthy lifestyle might be the strongest motives. This study offers an opportunity to better understand vegetarianism in Saudi Arabia along with the possibility of expanding vegetarian food choices for the general public.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wedad Azhar
- Clinical Nutrition Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sanaa Aljabiri
- Clinical Nutrition Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Taqwa Bushnaq
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Sciences, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia
| | - Firas S Azzeh
- Clinical Nutrition Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Reema A Alyamani
- Clinical Nutrition Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sarah O Alkholy
- Clinical Nutrition Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Walaa E Alhassani
- Clinical Nutrition Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Wafaa F Abusudah
- Clinical Nutrition Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Alaa Qadhi
- Clinical Nutrition Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hassan M Bukhari
- Clinical Nutrition Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Elsayed H Bakr
- Clinical Nutrition Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Khloud Ghafouri
- Clinical Nutrition Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
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