Research Paper on Obesity in UAE (United Arab Emirates)

Introduction

The increased rate of obesity in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) indicates there is a challenge in the dietary practices of the people. The statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO) shows that the prevalence of obesity increased from 9.3% in 1975 to 27.5% in 2016 among the teenagers in UAE. The analysis of the eating habits in their schools is different from the ones in their homes. It will be done in the secondary schools where the participants will be required to volunteer to participate. Fliers with contact information will be used to communicate to the target participants. They will be distributed by the researcher to the students in the school. The secondary students in UAE and the rest of the world are among the many people affected by obesity and diseases related to dietary practices. Such diseases include diabetes and chronic diseases. Poor cookery and dietary knowledge are some of the factors that are attributed to this trend. Expanding the knowledge of the students could improve their dietary practices.

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Design/methodology/approach: The pre and post evaluation test will be conducted on students from both high and low social economic classes after the study. The aim will be to analyze their knowledge and attitudes about their dietary practices. A total of 28 students will be selected from the local schools and they will be givenquestionnaires to fill. Ten teachers and parents will also be interviewed to provide more information on the same. The teachers will be those who are close friends to the chosen students and as well as their relatives. The purpose of this selection is to ensure that the results are similar and related to those from the students, for consistency purposes.

Background

Dietary practices are different among people from different geographic areas and this is attributed to the availability of the food, their cultural and religious beliefs, the climate and other factors.1 Dietary practices have many impacts on the lifes of students and some of these include obesity, growth and brain development., AI Ain is located roughly 160 kilometers (99 mi) east of the capital Abu Dhabi, and around 120 kilometers south of Dubai. The eastern region covers an area of approximately 13,100 km2. Oman lies to its east, Dubai, and Sharjah to the north, Abu Dhabi to the west and the Empty Quarter desert and Saudi Arabia to the south. The topography of Al Ain is unique and varies as one travel to the east. There are 59 schools in the city of AI Ain with a population of 650,000. Only 1 outstanding, 2 very good, 11 good, 28 Acceptable, 7 weak and 2 very weak according to the Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) that are co-education.1The relationship between ecotrophology and nutritional education is that it involves everyday practices and this will be helpful in analyzing the dietary practices followed daily by the participants. It also involves household management and economics, so this will help to understand about nutrition. Nutrition refers to the science that interprets the interaction of different nutrients in the foods and it involves food intake, assimilation, biosynthesis, and excretion.The data collected on the dietary practices will help to get answers for the research questions. The benefits of this research will be measured using feedback from the participants. It is intended that the research will improve their knowledge on their feeding habits.

Most of the people who observe diet are at a lower risk of contracting the diseases that are closely associated with the foods. The need to observe dietary habits is to design strategies to avoid obesity and other pathologies.3 For example, one may be used to taking a large number of carbohydrates and low vitamins which may have negative impacts on their health. Dietary assessment program should quick and easy. Further research shows that some of the dietary practices like eating high-calorie foods leads to diabetes.

The dietary practices in Europe and the United States are different in that the secondary school students are exposed to differing dietary practices and this affects the choices they have. A survey done on 16,000 secondary school students from different countries in Europe identified that the dietary practices are poor and most of them do not have a reliable feeding habit. Some of the factors that were associated with the different eating habits include body weight, gender, dietary health beliefs, health locus of control, knowledge about dietary feeding habits and age.Some of the chronic and degenerative diseases are associated with the dietary practices of the people of Europe and the rest of the world.The analysis showed that for most of the secondary school students, the knowledge about dietary practices does not guide their decisions on what to eat and when to eat it.

In the United States, a study done in 1990s showed that if there is a change in the dietary practices, then the cases of Cardiovascular Diseases would reduce. The survey showed that a reduction in fat consumption from 37% to 30% would reduce the deaths from the cardiovascular diseases and cancer by 2%.7 The above information shows that there is a poor health and dietary trend among the United States citizens. Similarly, by focusing on the secondary school students only, it is clear that they are included in the population that has poor eating practices. Some diseases like diabetes, stroke, osteoporosis, gall bladder disease and cancers of the breast, colon/rectum and prostate are associated with poor dietary practices.

For the secondary school students across the world, the attitude towards certain foods, their food choices and the knowledge they have about dietary practices determine the way they feed. It will also highlight the preference, intake, and perceptions that students have towards food. The cohorts to be used will consist of students aged between 14 years and 18 years. The analysis of this data is expected to reveal the different impacts that are associated with a change of the diet. For example, the analysis will help to indicate the impacts of high intake of calories and vitamins. One consideration in this proposal is that UAE has undergone many economic changes over time and this has led to a change in the lifestyle of the citizens. The country has been in existence for only 46 years. It gained its independence on 2nd December 1971 and it's made up of seven states. Most of the citizens are used to consuming junk food and this could have effects on their health in the long run. Some of the outcomes include diabetes and other chronic diseases., The secondary school students are among the most affected people because of their access to food and the time they have in school and at home. An analysis of the trends among students and teachers shows that most of them have a culture of skipping meals and taking fast foods. In other words, the students may not have adequate time at home and this affects their ability to watch their diet as expected. The main objectives of this research will be to define the main dietary practices in secondary schools and at home around the areas, to identify the attitudes and perceptions that determine these differences and to find out the preference, intake, and perceptions towards dietary practices of the students.

Hypothesis

The health education curriculum is new in UAE and there is little knowledge about its implementation and how it will help the students to have a better life. The hypothesis of this research is to determine if the new curriculum will help secondary school students to improve their dietary practices and quality of life.

Research Questions

• Is there a gap in knowledge on how to effectively communicate with UAE secondary students about food and health in their own terms?
• Is there a need to introduce practical cookery activities and understand the connections between what they eat and their health in AI Ain secondary schools?

Project Outline and Design

The project is expected to take place for a total of five schools in the area and the interviewees will only include those who have been in secondary school for at least one year and those who are within the required age bracket. A reasonable number of students in the analysis would be 28, based on past information from past studies and the sample calculation. The sample is manageable and reasonable, which makes it a valid target. Some of the expected observable impacts of dietary practices include obesity, heavyweight and the general health of the students. The inclusion criteria will be those that are delivering Food & Nutrition, Health Education, Home Economics in schools, Principals that have already included these disciplines in their curriculum, Parents that their children are studying one of these disciplines. In a period of three years, the students will be given questionnaires to fill and their food intake will be observed and recorded. Teachers, parents, and people in charge of the diets will be interviewed. Interviews will be analysed using Nvivo and the structured questionnaires will be used and the collected data will be analysed using SPSS.,Nvivo helps to analyse the data and make valuable conclusions.,,All data will be saved in a flash disk and protected using passwords. Some of the conditions that are expected to affect the process include the transfer of students from the schools under study, weather changes that may affect the availability of some foods and tight school schedules that may not allow the project to be carried out as planned., The challenge will be solved by following up on the students who may transfer, to observe their eating habits even in the new environment. The intervention to be used will be the use of students who are less likely to transfer, mostly those whose parents are not in the area temporarily. Lectures will be given to the students on dietary practices to help them understand the way dietary practices affect their health. The research will also be extended to a maximum of ten households, whereby the dietary practices will be observed and compared with the ones in the schools. The aim of this comparison will be to determine if the people at home have a different feeding habit as compared to those in the schools.

Diaries will be used to collect data from the students and households. All data will be put into tables and these will help to understand the differences observed within the period of the project. All diaries will be filled weekly and the results analysed for comparison with the other week. Emergency Nutrition Assessment (ENA) software will be used to collect and analyse data., Some of the measurements to be included are weight and height and this will help to determine the way dietary practices can affect the body mass index (BMI)., The data that will be collected will be reliable because it will be from the primary sources. The students will be allowed to participate but at their own consent. They will be given a Consent form and information sheet explaining the study and to allow them to choose whether to participate or not. The parallel research design will be used to compare the two groups of

The Relevance of the Project

The project is a reliable source of data that can be used in research and health and nutritional training. Out of the 59 schools in Al Ain, only one of them has lessons where they teach students how to prepare their own food and learn nutritional topics. The research will seek to understand the qualifications of the trainers and the effectiveness of their training. The outcomes of the research will show the relationship between t...