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Correlates of dietary behaviors among young Emirati males completing compulsory military service
Understanding dietary behaviors in military settings, particularly in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is crucial for developing effective obesity prevention and treatment interventions. This research focused on evaluating various dietary habits among military recruits and their links to different correlates such as age, marital status, education level, smoking habits, screen time, dietary knowledge, and self-efficacy.
The study employed a cross-sectional design with 153 military recruits, averaging 25.9 years old (SD = ± 3.2), during their basic training at a military camp in the UAE. The researchers measured dietary behaviors using the Arab Teens Lifestyle Study and obtained ethical approval from a UAE university ethics committee.
Findings revealed that only 14.4% of recruits consumed fruits daily, while 25.5% and 22.9% reported daily consumption of vegetables and breakfast, respectively. A significant portion, 46.4%, drank sugar-sweetened beverages more than three times a week, while 39.2% and 37.3% reported similar frequent consumption of fast food and sweets/chocolates, respectively. Bivariate regression analyses indicated a positive correlation between eating self-efficacy and the intake of breakfast and dairy products, whereas it showed an inverse relationship with the consumption of sugar, fast foods, and French fries. Age negatively correlated with the intake of sugar, fast food, and energy drinks.
Additionally, higher dietary knowledge positively influenced vegetable intake and negatively correlated with energy drink consumption. Through multiple regression analyses, findings indicated that younger age and lower self-efficacy in eating were significant predictors of high consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (adjusted R² = 0.112) and fast food intake (adjusted R² = 0.084). Furthermore, a higher score in dietary knowledge predicted vegetable consumption (adjusted R² = 0.093), while age and smoking status predicted energy drink consumption (adjusted R² = 0.225).
This research underscores the prevalence of unhealthy dietary patterns among new recruits in the UAE military. Importantly, the study highlights age, eating self-efficacy, and nutrition knowledge as key factors influencing dietary behaviors. There is a clear need for interventions targeting these correlates to foster healthier eating habits in military settings. [NPID: Military, dietary behaviors, vegetable consumption, recruits, obesity prevention]
Year: 2026
