Prevalence and Attitudes towards Using Protein Supplements Among Female Gym Users: an Online Survey

Author(s):  
Maha H. Alhussain ◽  
Waad S. Abdulhalim ◽  
Laila Naif Al-harbi ◽  
Manal Abdulaziz Binobead

Background: Protein supplements have become a widespread practice amongst athletes and gym users worldwide. However, studies on the use of protein supplements among female gym users in Saudi Arabia are lacking. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of protein supplement usage among female gym users and their attitudes towards protein supplementation in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 502 female gym users aged ≥18 years completed a structured, self-administered online questionnaire on the usage of protein supplementation. Socio-demographic information, anthropometry, health status, exercise frequency, attitudes and knowledge regarding protein supplements were obtained. Results: The overall prevalence rate of protein supplement use among the study respondents was 36.3%. There were significant associations between the use of protein supplements and educational level (p< 0.05), the duration of being a gym member (p< 0.05) and frequency of gym visits per week (p< 0.05). Whey protein was the predominantly used supplement (57.8%), and the reason attributed to the use of protein supplement was muscle building (53.9%). The main sources of information regarding protein supplement use included the internet (30.2%) followed by gym coaches (25.3%). Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that a considerable number of females exercising in gyms use protein supplements, and most rely on unreliable sources for decision-making of protein supplements use. Nutritional education and consultations regarding protein supplement use are warranted.

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 2284
Author(s):  
Dalia El Khoury ◽  
Joel Hansen ◽  
Madelyn Tabakos ◽  
Lawrence L. Spriet ◽  
Paula Brauer

Despite the emerging evidence of adverse consequences and interaction with doping substances, dietary supplements (DS) are commonly used by many Canadians. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the patterns and determinants of current DS use among non-athlete students at a Canadian university using a cross-sectional approach. Of the 475 participants who completed the online survey, 43.4% declared using DS in the past six months. Participants who were male, aged ≥20 years old, and had a parent/guardian with a bachelor’s degree were significantly more likely to use DS. The types of DS used and the sources of information regarding DS were significantly influenced by age and gender. The most commonly used DS were vitamin and mineral and protein supplements. Most participants referred to healthcare professionals for information on DS, but many continued to depend on unreliable sources including family and friends. Of DS users, 10.1% reported experiencing adverse events from using DS. Findings from this study indicate that supplementation is very common among Canadian non-athlete students and highlight the urgent need for the development of educational programs surrounding DS use.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 356-363
Author(s):  
Fatmah Alsharif

Background: In the battle against the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, medical care staff, especially nurses, are at a higher risk of encountering psychological health issues and distress, such as stress, tension, burdensome indications, and, most importantly, fear. They are also at higher risk of becoming infected and transmitting this virus. In Saudi Arabia, it was noticed that the healthcare workforce suffered from anxiety, and that this more evident in women than men. Objective: This study aimed to assess the knowledge of nurses regarding COVID-19 and the level of anxiety toward the COVID-19 outbreak in the current pandemic situation. Design: A cross-sectional design was used and a validated self-administered online questionnaire with a set of questions related to COVID-19 was distributed to 87 participating nurses. Results: The results showed that more than half of the nurses (71.90%) had an adequate and good knowledge about the causes, transmission, symptoms, treatment, and death rate of COVID-19. The main sources of information for the nurses were social media (51.7%) and the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health (36.8%). Conclusions: The results allowed the conclusion that, though the nurses had satisfactory knowledge about COVID-19, more than 50% of them experienced mental health issues such as anxiety. To address this, along with providing more knowledge about COVID-19, nurses should be supported in managing their anxiety.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (13) ◽  
pp. 67
Author(s):  
Reem Al Madani ◽  
Shahzeb H. Ansari

INTRODUCTION: The dispersion of severe COVID-19 has already occupied on pandemic extents, disturbing over 100 nations in a matter of months. A worldwide response to formulate health systems global is imperious. MATERIALS &amp; METHODS: This is a cross sectional study conducted among the Saudi general public using an online survey. Saudis (male and female) of all ages willing to participate in this study were requested to fill up the survey. An online questionnaire was designed using Google Forms with questions related to personal and demographic information followed by COVID-10 related questions. RESULTS: A total of N=1026 subjects participated in this study and responded by completing the online survey. They were divided into groups including gender, age, education and profession type. As far as gender was concerned, 243 (23.7%) males and 783 (76.3%) females took part. CONCLUSION: Overall knowledge of Saudis regarding COVID-19 is above average.


Author(s):  
Hana Sonbol ◽  
Hadil M. Alahdal ◽  
Rasis A. Alanazi ◽  
Khawla Alsamhary ◽  
Fuad Ameen

COVID-19 disease was announced as a global pandemic in March 2020 by the World health organization (WHO). Saudi Arabia was among the first countries to enforce restriction measures such as closing schools, remote working, and a travel ban. We aim to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s depression in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional online survey of 1109 participants was conducted during the curfew between 18th of May and 11th of June 2020. An online questionnaire included questions about the commitment to follow the precautionary measures, knowledge on COVID-19, and depression. Depression was assessed with the Impact of Event Scale-Revised method. Females, unmarried individuals, elderly persons, parents of young children, unemployed, and small families were more likely to be depressed. Education level did not explain the differences in depression. However, the more knowledge the participants had about COVID-19 the better they followed the restrictions. A regression analysis revealed that the commitment of a person to follow the restrictions increased his/her depression symptoms. Attention should be paid to different groups of people in future psychiatric planning.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Raihan Sajid ◽  
Lama Quraiba ◽  
Noara Khaled Alhusseini ◽  
Haifa Alsheikh ◽  
Nabel Basha ◽  
...  

In the recent years, dietary supplements use among adults has increased dramatically to maintain good health and prevent diseases. Since some individuals find maintaining a balanced meal a challenge, they use dietary supplements to replace inadequate energy and micro/macro-nutrient intake. The aim of the study is to explore the use of dietary supplements and to assess awareness of its positive/adverse effects among physically active adults and the general population in Saudi Arabia. We conducted a cross-sectional online survey-based study and received 574 responses showing frequencies and types of dietary supplements. The results show that 44.6% of respondents use dietary supplements. The most used dietary supplements were Vitamin C and multivitamins, consumed by 44% of the respondents, Vitamin D (44%), Iron (41%), and Calcium (39%).  Protein sports bars and powder were consumed mainly by gym members, particularly those practicing weight-training exercises. Approximately 4% of respondents reported side-effects secondary to the usage of the dietary supplements. We conclude that the dietary supplement usage is widespread in Saudi Arabia among both gym members and the general public. It is highly recommended to increase awareness measures from official health entities by educating the general population and physically active adults about dietary supplement use and adverse effects to ensure safe practices.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. e000942
Author(s):  
Oliver G P Lawton ◽  
Sarah A Lawton ◽  
Lisa Dikomitis ◽  
Joanne Protheroe ◽  
Joanne Smith ◽  
...  

COVID-19 has significantly impacted young people’s lives yet little is known about the COVID-19 related sources of information they access. We performed a cross-sectional survey of pupils (11–16 years) in North Staffordshire, UK. 408 (23%) pupils responded to an online survey emailed to them by their school. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise the data. Social media, accessed by 68%, played a significant role in the provision of information, despite it not being considered trustworthy. 89% felt that COVID-19 had negatively affected their education. Gaps in the provision of information on COVID-19 have been identified.


Author(s):  
Hasan S. Alamri ◽  
Wesam F. Mousa ◽  
Abdullah Algarni ◽  
Shehata F. Megahid ◽  
Ali Al Bshabshe ◽  
...  

Objective: Little is known about the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) among the health care workers in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the psychological impact of COVID-19 among the health care workers. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from May till mid-July among 389 health care workers from government and private hospitals in Saudi Arabia. Data was collected using a pre-structured online questionnaire that measured adverse psychological outcomes, including the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scale and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale. The Pearson chi-square test was used to assess the distribution of depression and anxiety among health care workers. Results: A high level of anxiety was recorded among the health care workers, and 69.3% of health care workers below the age of 40 were found to have depression. There was a significant increase in depression among staff with chronic health problems (72.1% vs. 61.9%; p = 0.048). High anxiety levels were detected among young staff compared to others (68.7% vs. 43.8%; p = 0.001). Moreover, 82.1% of the female staff were anxious, as compared to 55.6% of the males (p = 0.001). Conclusions: We found increased prevalence of adverse psychological outcomes among the health care workers in Saudi Arabia during the outbreak of COVID-19. Therefore, there is a need for proper screening and development of corresponding preventive measures to decrease the adverse psychological outcomes.


Author(s):  
Mohamed N. Al Arifi ◽  
Abdulrahman Alwhaibi

Objective: Fever alone can lead to rare serious complications in children, such as febrile seizures. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge, beliefs, and behavior of parents toward fever and its management. Methods: A cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire was applied over a period of 3 months, from January to March 2018, to parents who were living in Saudi Arabia. The inclusion criteria were a parent who is a resident of Saudi Arabia, with at least one child aged 6 years or less, while incomplete questionnaires, having a child aged more than 6 years, or parents who were not living in Saudi Arabia were excluded. Results: A total of 656 parents completed the questionnaire. More than two-thirds of the subjects were female, the majority of whom were aged between 25–33 years old. The best-reported place to measure the temperature of children was the armpit (46%), followed by the ear (28%) and the mouth (10.7%). More than half of the parents considered their children feverish at a temperature of 38 °C. The majority of parents (79.7%) reported that the most serious side effects of fever were seizure, brain damage (39.3%), coma (29.9%), dehydration (29.7%), and death (25%). The most common method used to measure a child’s temperature was an electronic thermometer (62.3%). The most common antipyretic was paracetamol (84.5%). Conclusions: Our study demonstrates the good knowledge of parents in identifying a feverish temperature using the recommended route and tools for measuring body temperature.


Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 765
Author(s):  
Amel Ahmed Fayed ◽  
Abeer Salem Al Shahrani ◽  
Leenah Tawfiq Almanea ◽  
Nardeen Ibrahim Alsweed ◽  
Layla Mohammed Almarzoug ◽  
...  

This study aimed to assess the willingness to receive the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and seasonal influenza vaccines and vaccine uptake during the early stage of the national vaccination campaign in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among adult Saudis between 20 January and 20 March 2021. The questionnaire addressed vaccine hesitancy, perceived risk, willingness, and vaccine uptake. Approximately 39% of the participants expressed vaccine hesitancy, and 29.8% and 24% felt highly vulnerable to contracting COVID-19 and seasonal influenza, respectively. The majority (59.5%) were willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, although only 31.7% were willing to receive the flu vaccine. Adjusted analysis showed that vaccine hesitancy (OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.27–0.43) and the perception of being at high risk (OR 2.78, 95% CI 1.68–4.60) independently affected the intention to be vaccinated. Vaccine hesitancy was similar among those who were willing to be vaccinated (29.8%) and those who had already been vaccinated (33.1%). The perceived risk was significantly higher among those who had been vaccinated (48.1%) than among those who were willing to be vaccinated but had not yet been vaccinated (29.1%). In conclusion, the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine in Saudi Arabia is high. Saudis who received the vaccine had a similar level of vaccine hesitancy and a higher level of perceived risk.


Author(s):  
Fatmah Alsharif ◽  
Wedad Almutairi ◽  
Faygah Shibily ◽  
Fatmah Alhothari ◽  
Fidaa Batwa ◽  
...  

Background: Lymphedema is a condition in which excessive fluid accumulates in soft tissues. It is a common complication of breast cancer treatments. It can lead to serious consequences and interfere with the activity of daily living. This study aimed to determine the level of awareness of breast-cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) among women with breast cancer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This was a descriptive quantitative cross-sectional design that included a convenience sample of women diagnosed with breast cancer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Data were collected by distributing a self-administrated online questionnaire consisting of four parts, including demographic data (five items), the status of education about BCRL (three items), basic medical history of breast cancer (six items), and BCRL level of awareness of risk factors and management (nine items). Results: In total, 95 out of 135 of participants did not know about lymphedema, 119 of the participants (88.1%) did not receive any explanation about the possibility of lymphedema from their medical team before surgery, and 121 of them (89.6%) did not receive it after surgery. The most significant factor affecting participants’ level of awareness regarding BCRL was the lack of information about the possibility of BCRL occurrence, which was not provided to them by the medical team. Recommendation: Early and continuous education for future management is essential to prevent problems related to BCRL and improve quality of life.


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