Soft Drink Consumption Patterns and Dependence among Medical Students in Riyadh.

Khan, Mohammed Moizuddin; Ali Ourfhil, Omar Hasan; Samhan, Mohamed A.; Zayda, Mohamed Ge.

Background: Soft drink consumption has become a highly visible and controversial public health and policy issue. Soft drinks are viewed by many as a major contributor to obesity and related health problems i.e. increased risk of type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease and have consequently been targeted as a means to help curtail the rising prevalence of obesity. So the present was conducted to study soft drink consumption patterns and dependence among medical students in Riyadh city. Material and Methods: The present study was a single-center, prospective Cross-sectional study, conducted in the College of Medicine, Dar Al Uloom University, Riyadh Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Students of the university and the college of medicine, Dar Al Uloom University Riyadh from 1st January, 2022 to 15st January 2022. Results: In the present study 177 students were participated. Most of them 91 (51.4%) students were in the age group between 21-25 years. Out of those 177 students, 146(82.5%) students consum soft drinks and only 31 (17.5%) students are not consumers of soft drinks. The majority of students 77(52.7%) preferred cold drink was Pepsi. The second rank was Sprite 49(33.6%) and the least preferable one was 7Up 34(23.3%). The majority of 87(49.1%) students agreed that soft drinks are not good for health, 51(28.9%) of students were somewhat agreed, 10(5.6%) students do not know that the consumption of soft drinks is not good for health. Conclusion: The present study shows that soft drinks consumption among medical students of Saudis is higher i.e. 82.0%. The majority students need soft drinks while taking their meal and believe that soft drinks improved digestion. The majority medical students agreed that soft drinks are not good for health, as medical students should focus on promoting healthy food choices among them selves.

COLLEGE students; TYPE 2 diabetes; SOFT drinks; MEDICAL students; PUBLIC health

Pravara Medical Review, 2024, Vol 16, Issue 3, p27

0975-0533

Academic Journal

10.36848/PMR/2024/90000.90030