Nutrition Content on Twitter: The Public’s Acceptability, Use and Trust

Waad Alfawaz^{1, 2,} , Samah Alageel^{1, 2}, Nouf Alawdh^{1, 2}, Mashael Alsubaie^{1, 2}, Duaa Alammari^{2, 3} and Yara Almuhtadi^{1, 2}

¹Department of Community Health Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

²National Nutrition Committee (NNC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

³King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Saudi Arabia

Cite this paper:
Waad Alfawaz, Samah Alageel, Nouf Alawdh, Mashael Alsubaie, Duaa Alammari and Yara Almuhtadi. Nutrition Content on Twitter: The Public’s Acceptability, Use and Trust. Journal of Food and Nutrition Research. 2024; 12(5):286-291. doi: 10.12691/jfnr-12-5-8

Abstract

Objective: To examine people's perceptions and trust in nutrition-related information on Twitter. Design: A cross-sectional study using a self-administered electronic survey was conducted from May 2022 to June 2022. Methods: Online questionnaire administered through the National Nutrition Committee (NNC) social media platform across Saudi Arabia. Four hundred twenty subjects living in Saudi Arabia aged 18 and above. Results: Of the 420 participants, 232 (55.2%) considered Twitter their favourite social media plat-form. The study found that 104 (24.8%) participants preferred using Twitter to search for nutritional information. However, when asked about their satisfaction levels, 147 (35%) participants were satisfied with using Twitter to find nutritional information. Conclusion: Having a clear idea about Twitter use trends may help policymakers and health professionals to make informed decisions, take the proper actions, and set regulations that govern the use of Twitter as a channel to help disseminate reliable nutrition-related information.

Keywords:
twitter nutrition health information social media nutritional information

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