Ahmad Allafi

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.

The aim of this study was to determine whether nutrition knowledge differs between male and female Kuwaiti health influencers in social media (Instagram). 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. Kuwaiti health influencers in social media (Instagram). One hundred Kuwaiti health influencers (fifty males; fifty females) in social media (Instagram). 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). Kuwaiti health influencers in social media were unable to provide accurate information concerning common health problems including obesity, hypertension, and osteoporosis.

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.

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.

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.

Our aim was to investigate the frequency of the behaviors that are most often associated with excess weight gain in Kuwaitis and to determine which gender and age groups are at highest risk for each behavior. A questionnaire developed to identify barriers to exercise in western populations was modified for use with Kuwaitis and posted online during September through December 2012. Data from 1370 adults 18 to 59 years old with BMIs ranging from 15.1–70.8 was collected. The prevalence of seven behavior patterns was examined for age, BMI, and gender groups as well as the odds ratio of each behavior for each BMI group. Both individual unhealthy exercise behaviors and the sum of all such behaviors were more frequent in over-weight and obese individuals. For all behaviors the odds ratio was significantly greater for those with BMIs of 30-39 than for those with BMIs below 25 (P< 0.05). Some exercise avoidance behaviors were more frequent in older age groups and in overweight females. Unhealthy exercise behavior patterns were highly prevalent in obese individuals. Tailoring programs and counseling to the most common of these patterns in Kuwaiti obese should facilitate greater success in weight management.

Current prevalence estimates for diabetes in Arabian Gulf countries are some of the world’s highest, yet regional trends and contributing factors are poorly documented. The present study was designed to determine temporal changes in the prevalence of impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and diabetes and associated factors in Kuwaiti adults.