AWARENESS AND CONSUMPTION OF PREBIOTICS AND PROBIOTICS AMONG ADULT (MALE/FEMALE) IN AL AHSA REGION

Introduction: Public awareness and interest in food that is highly related to their health benefits are flourishing. Even though there is a gap between the biomedical sciences experiments and the business of marketing, the accessibility of health-promoting channels/media leads the consumer to seek healthier food and drinks. Pre/probiotics have a big role in management and protection of gastrointestinal infection, allergic disease.

The aim of study is to find out the awareness and consumption of prebiotics and probiotics among adults (male/female) in Al-Ahsa region. 

Method: Cross sectional study was conducted in Al Ahsa, KSA among adults using structured questionnaire which included questions related to demographic, anthropometric, frequency of consumption of prebiotics and probiotics and about health status. A clear inclusion and exclusion criteria data was set before the data collection. Arabic version of Questionnaire along with ethical consent form was distributed through social media total of 450 participated in the study with their consent, based on inclusion and exclusion criteria data of 384 respondents was included for statistical analysis, Data was collected, checked for completeness, and further analysis of the data was done by using (SPSS) software version 20, Descriptive statistics was calculated including frequencies and proportions for categorical variables. Approval for this study was obtained from KAIMRC and IRB

Result: Majority of the participants are not aware of the term prebiotic (64.3%) and probiotic (61.2%). However, pre/probiotics products (apples, leeks, garlic, yogurt) are available in all the supermarkets which (kefir and yakult) are rarely available, also the consumption of these products are in high percentage on regular basis (28% & 35%) daily and weekly basis, respectively.  Significant association of age, gender, and educational level for awareness & consumption.

Conclusion: Pre/probiotics products are available abundantly in all the Al-Ahsa supermarket also the consumption rate, most of them aware of the health benefits of these products. However, the term Pre/probiotics is not very familiar to the population of al Ahsa indicating need for increasing awareness about these products also its health benefits.