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A sample of 535 Arab women in Qatar (an Arab Gulf country) was interviewed to obtain their attitudes towards eight fads related to weight reduction, and the effect of educational level and obesity on these attitudes. In general 20 per cent to 54 per cent of women believed in these fads and 50.6 per cent to 45.1 per cent did not know whether or not these fads are correct. The education level of women has a significant effect on the belief of the attitude statements. Highly educated women were more likely to disagree on the attitudes related to weight reduction than low and middle education women. Obese women were more likely to believe in these fads than overweight and non‐obese women. Health education programmes should focus on correcting several fads related to weight reduction as a part of any programme to prevent and control obesity in the Arab community.

A cross‐sectional survey of 300 male university students (18‐25 years) in the United Arab Emirates was carried out to study the relationship between obesity and some lifestyle factors. Obesity was determined using body mass index (weight/height²), with cut‐off of <25 and ≥25, to represent non‐obese and obese students, respectively. The overall prevalence of obesity was 35.7 per cent, which was higher than their counterpart female students. The risk of obesity was found to be greater among those who had a family history of obesity (relative risk, RR=1.88), watched television for more than four hours a day (RR=1.31), were smokers (RR=1.35), were not practising sport (RR=1.77) and had a car (RR=1.23). However, only family history of obesity was found to be statistically significant. The study suggests that social and lifestyle factors are important factors for the occurrence of obesity among male university students.

This paper seeks to determine the proximate, mineral, sterol composition, and fatty acid profile of pizzas commonly consumed in Bahrain.

Five different types of pizza were purchased from various food outlets in Manama city, the capital of Bahrain. Proximate composition was determined by measuring the moisture, ash, fat, protein (N × 6.25), crude fiber, and carbohydrate content. The elements Ca, Mg, Na, Fe, Zn, Cu, and Mn were measured using the flame system, while fatty acids were analyzed by gas liquid chromatography (GLC) as their methyl esters, and sterols in the extracted fat were determined quantitatively by GLC.

On a fresh weight basis the dishes contained 47.50‐63.22 per cent w/w moisture, 8.25‐13.45 per cent w/w protein (N × 6.25), 8.43‐11.35 per cent w/w fat, and 11.76‐28.75 per cent w/w carbohydrates. The energy value ranged from 187.43‐259.60kcal (784.20‐1,086.18kJ)/100g, while a significant variation in the fiber and ash content was not observed. Of the minerals tested sodium (4,301.0‐5,315.3ppm), calcium (1,431.3‐2,143.2ppm), iron (9.10‐22.712ppm), and zinc (10.85‐17.65ppm) were the most prominent, while potassium, magnesium, and manganese were considerably lower. Analysis of sterol composition showed that cholesterol (9.87‐20.91mg/100g) and β‐sitosterol (5.91‐9.65mg/100g) were the most prominent sterols, whilst the presence of campesterol and stigmasterol was low. The main fatty acids present were oleic (22.10‐32.40mg/100g) and palmitic acid (24.0‐26.7mg/100g), while considerable amount of linoleic, stearic, and myristic acids were also present.

Despite the popular misconception regarding the nutritional value of fast foods like pizzas, the pizza commonly consumed in Bahrain could be a considerable source of nutrition and make nutritional contribution to the diet, if eaten in moderation.

The aim of this study is to determine the nutritional profile of foods provided by the governmental school canteens in Bahrain.

Nine types of foods commonly provided in 45 schools in Bahrain were analyzed for their proximate, mineral and heavy metal composition. Proximate composition was determined by measuring the moisture, ash, fat, protein (N × 6.25), crude fiber and carbohydrate content. Minerals and heavy metals were measured using flame or atomic absorption spectroscopy. Fatty acids were analyzed by gas liquid chromatography (GLC), as their methyl esters and sterols in the extracted fat were determined quantitatively by GLC.

Proximate analysis indicated protein content in the range of 8.14‐12.52 g/100 g, while fat content was below 10 g/100 g in all the foods, except thymes bakery (16.87 g/100 g). Consequently, thymes bakery also had higher energy values (376.15 kcal/100 g). Carbohydrates ranged between 33.86 and 47.29 g/100 g and fiber was high in the broad beans sandwich (1.16 g/100 g). Liver sandwich had considerable amount of iron (43.8 ppm), zinc (23.8 ppm) and potassium (3,360 ppm), while pizza was a good source of calcium (2,190 ppm). Lead was detected in 89 per cent of the foods, the highest being in pizza (0.234 ppm), being but contamination was well within the permitted limit. Aluminum was detected in 78 per cent of the foods, the highest level being observed in the chicken sandwich (10.8 ppm).

The results of this study can be utilized to improve the nutritive value of foods provided in the school feeding programme in the country.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the commonly consumed fast foods in Bahrain with respect to proximate, mineral, sterol composition and their fatty acid profile.

Foods were purchased from the most frequented fast food outlets in Manama city, the capital of Bahrain. Similar types of foods were pooled into one sample. Proximate composition was determined in duplicate by the standard procedure of the AOAC. Mineral concentrations were determined by using either electro thermal or flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer and fatty acids were analyzed by gas liquid chromatography (GLC) as per standard procedure.

Proximate analysis showed a wide variation in the composition and nutritive value. Moisture, fat, protein, carbohydrate and fiber contents ranged from 30.35‐54.02, 8.74‐17.33, 4.41‐18.23 (n×6.25), 12.14‐43.81 and 0.56‐3.43 %w/w respectively. The range in the energy value was between 215.0‐349.0 Kcal/100 g. Most of the foods were rich in sodium, calcium, iron, and zinc being in the range of 4315.0‐7890.9, 337.1‐1893.1, 3.25‐82.26, and 4.88‐22.62 ppm respectively while potassium, magnesium, copper and manganese were present to a lesser extent. Cholesterol levels were negligible in the vegetable dishes but high in dishes with meat and dairy products (<1.00‐35.47 mg/100 g). Considerable levels of β‐sitosterol (4.96‐20.20 mg/100 g) were present. The most prominent fatty acids were oleic (32.9‐50.4 mg/100 g), linoleic (5.0‐33.6 mg/100 g) and palmitic acid (16.8‐24.9 mg/100 g).

It is essential that calorie‐dense foods with minimal nutritional content must return to their role as occasional discretionary items in an otherwise balanced diet.

Hypertension is one of important risk factors for cardiovascular disease, which represents 30 per cent of annual total deaths in Bahrain. Studies on factors associated with hypertension in Bahrain are very limited. The present paper aimed to highlight some social and lifestyle factors that may be associated with hypertension in Bahraini community.

A cross‐sectional household survey was carried out using a multistage sampling technique to select 514 Bahraini adults aged 30‐79 years. A pretested validated questionnaire was used. History of hypertension and diabetes was determined by positive response to previous diagnosis of these diseases.

The risk of occurrence of hypertension was greater in older people, women, illiterate people, non‐smokers, those who did not walk regularly, those who watched television daily, obese people, those who had a history of diabetes and those who consumed vegetables more than four times a week. However, age, gender, education, obesity and diabetes were the main risk factors statistically associated with hypertension using bivariate analysis (p<0.01). When multiple logistic regression was used, only age (p<0.01) and obesity (p<0.05) were found to be statistically significant.

Social, lifestyle and dietary factors should be considered in any intervention programme to prevent and control hypertension in Bahraini community.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the associations between adolescents’ perceptions of their parents’ and peers’ opinions about body weight and their actual weight status.

A total of 795 Jordanian adolescents, 15-18 years of age, were recruited in this study. Adolescents completed a questionnaire to evaluate their perceptions: about how their parents’ and peers’ viewed their weight, regarding any criticism of their parents and peers about their weight and if their parents compared their weight against their siblings.

The study found that the majority of non-overweight adolescents thought their parents and peers considered them to have a normal weight (94.9 and 94.6 per cent for boys, 76.6 and 85.5 per cent for girls, respectively). For obese girls, 83.4 per cent thought their parents and 91.7 per cent thought their peers perceived them as overweight. The risk of being obese was significantly related to the amount of parental criticism perceived by adolescent girls with OR = 3.9 (95 per cent CI: 1.6-9.4; P = 0.01), while perception of peer criticism showed an increased trend of risk for obesity in boys. Adolescents’ perceptions regarding parental comparisons between their body weights against their siblings’ body weight was found to increase the risk for obesity significantly among girls.

The current study highlights that most of the obese adolescents perceived that their parents and peers underestimated their actual weight status. While obese boys were more likely to report being criticized about their body shape by their peers, obese girls indicated that they received more criticism about their weight from their parents.

The objective of this study was to evaluate nutrition knowledge, attitudes and practices in Bahrain. A cross‐sectional survey was carried out in 1998. Highly statistically significant differences (p < 0.0001) were observed between practitioners and students in relation to knowledge concerning recommended daily allowance. The results suggest that more attention should be given to nutrition in medical curricula for undergraduates and postgraduates.

The main purpose of this study was to explore the differences in dietary habits and lifestyle between girls in government and private schools in Saudi Arabia.

A cross-sectional multistage stratified survey was carried out on schoolgirls aged 12-19 years. The total sample was 512 girls (291 and 221 girls from government and private schools, respectively). A pretested questionnaire was used to collect the data.

The findings revealed that girls in private schools were significantly more likely to consume vegetables, fruits, red meat, and chicken than those in government schools. Furthermore, private schoolgirls were less prone to watch television and use the internet daily than girls in government schools.

Intervention for promoting healthy lifestyles in schoolchildren should not exclude private schools.

This study aims to investigate the nutrient composition and cholesterol content of most popular fast foods sold in Qena city, Egypt with reference to their trans fatty acids contents.

Total 80 samples of fast foods were collected from various fast food restaurants in Qena city, Egypt. The samples were investigated for their nutritive quality by measuring moisture, protein, fat, ash, carbohydrate and energy content as described by the association of analytical chemists. The cholesterol content was determined using a spectrophotometer, while trans fatty acids were analyzed by gas chromatography using standard methods.

The study revealed a wide variation in the composition and nutritive value. On a fresh weight basis, moisture, protein, fat, carbohydrate and ash ranged from 45.9-55.0 (P < 0.001), 15.0-22.3 (P < 0.001), 13.1-15.7 (P = 0.034), 6.0-16.2 (P < 0.001) and 2.2-3.5 (P < 0.001), %w/w, respectively. The fast foods were very energy dense with calorie content varying from 236.5-281.1 (P < 0.001), Kcal/100 g. The mean values of cholesterol were between 15-17 mg/100 g (P = 0.398). The findings showed that fast foods had high total trans fatty acids content exceeding the Danish legal limit of 2 g/100 g of fat being in the range of 3.5 to 11.3 g per 100 g fat (P = 0.379). Elaidic acid is the predominant trans-isomer in industrially produced trans fatty acids. The concentrations of elaidic acid were high in all samples examined (P = 0.942).

This study has established the fact that fast foods are associated with high total energy intake, high intake of fat, trans fat and a higher proportion of calories being derived from total fat and trans-fat. Therefore, it is recommended to limit the intake of fast food.