Table 1.
Proportions of adolescents reporting daily consumption (unless otherwise indicated) of various food groups * in countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region.
| Country | Fruits | Vegetables | Dairy | Meat, Poultry, and Fish | Fast Foods | SSBs | Sweet Snacks (Including Confectionary) | Salty and Fried Snacks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cakes/Pastries | Sweets/Chocolates | ||||||||
| Bahrain [52] (National) |
25.3% | 26.3% | 37.1% | Meat: 20% Fish: 6.9% Poultry: 18.2% |
14.4% | 42.2% | -- | Sweets: 31.4% Chocolates: 32% |
-- |
| Egypt [42] | 29% | 78.2% | 58.9% | -- | 64.6% | 19.7% | -- | -- | -- |
| Iran [48] | 16.2% | 16.3% | Meat: 31.9% | -- | 75.4% | 45.5% | 84.7% | ||
| Iraq [36] | M: 24.3% F: 46.3% |
M: 46.1% F: 62.3% |
Milk: M: 37.2% F: 35.2% |
-- | >3 days/w: M: 37.1% F: 24.9% |
>3 days/w: M: 66.9% F: 60.4% |
>3 days/w: M: 46.1% F: 55% |
>3 days/w: M: 43.5% F: 52.2% |
>3 days/w: M: 51% F: 64.6% |
| Jordan [54] | 20% | 43% | -- | 1–3 times/w: Meat: 47% Fish: 54% 4–6 times/w: Poultry: 40% |
1–3 times/w: 57% |
-- | -- | Chocolates: 40% |
-- |
| Kuwait [57] | M: 17.5% F: 11.8% |
M: 26% F: 22.1% |
M: 36.3% F: 25.3% |
-- | M: 9.4% F: 10.4% |
M: 42.2% F: 37.5% |
M: 7% F: 14.7% |
M: 21.1% F: 35.6% |
Potato fries/chips: M: 9.4%; F: 12.4% |
| Kuwait [58] (National) |
-- | -- | -- | -- | -- | >1 time/d: 43% |
>1 time/d: 42.5% | >1 time/d: 42% |
-- |
| Morocco [43,44] | M: 18.7% F: 20.4% |
M: 33.1% F: 42.5% |
M: 78.1% F: 76.9% |
-- | >3 times/w: M: 15% F: 12.9% |
>3 times/w: M: 37.5% F: 41.9% |
>3 times/w: M: 66.9% F: 79% |
3 times/w: M: 66.9% F: 72% |
>3 times/w: Potato fries/chips: M: 18.8%; F: 29% |
| Palestine [53] | M: 11.6% F: 16.2% |
M: 27.6% F: 34.1% |
Milk: M: 33.7% F: 29.9% Yogurt: M: 19.8% F: 20.8% |
>3 times/w: Meat: M: 7.3% F: 7.9% Poultry: M: 3.4% F: 3.8% |
-- | M: 6.2% F: 9.3% |
Cookies: M: 14.6% F: 19.6% |
Chocolates: M: 10.7% F: 17% |
-- |
| Palestine [65] (National) |
31% | 45% | Milk: 22% | Meat and poultry: 16% | -- | 24% | 35% | -- | |
| Palestine [37] | M: 58.9% F: 55.2% |
M: 72.8% F:73.8% |
Milk: M: 32.9% F: 18.3% Yogurt: M: 31.8% F: 28.3% |
Meat: M: 11.4% F: 10.7% Poultry: M: 11.9% F: 12.2% |
-- | M: 39.6% F: 28.4% |
M: 42.3% F: 49.2% |
Salty snacks: M: 50.3% F: 61.5% Fried potatoes: M: 20.5% F: 23.8% |
|
| Qatar [66] | 13.9% | 20.3% | 24.1% | -- | ≥4 days/w: 27.3% |
≥4 days/w: 48.8% |
≥4 days/w: 24.5% | ≥4 days/w: 49.4% | ≥4 days/w: 28.7% |
| Saudi [67] | M: 16% F: 9.6% |
M: 23.3% F: 22.3% |
Milk: M: 33.2% F: 25.1% |
-- | >3 days/w: M: 30.2% F: 24.9% |
>3 days/w: M: 67.3% F: 57.4% |
>3 days/w: M: 24.8% F: 28.8% |
>3 days/w: M: 37.3% F: 52.6% |
>3 days/w: M: 25% F: 30.7% |
| Sudan [50] | M: 33.5% F: 31.9% |
M: 70.1% F: 69.7% |
-- | Meat: M: 55.7% F: 60.7% |
-- | M: 43.9% F: 44.8% |
Sweets: M: 55.4% F: 60.6% |
-- | Crisps: M: 38.7% F: 39.2% Other salty snacks: M: 42.9% F: 32% |
| Sudan [51] | >4 times/w: 30.1% | >4 times/w: 63.9% | >4 times/w: 58.1% | >4 times/w: Meat: 59.1% Fish: 11.4% Poultry: 27.8% |
>4 times/w: 26.6% | >4 times/w: 43.4% | >4 times/w: 37.1% | >4 times/w: Chocolates: 30.1% | -- |
| Sudan [68] | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 80.6% | Dessert: 69.3% Sweet biscuits: 65.3% |
Chocolates: 80% Popsicles: 61.4% Sweets: 48.7% |
-- |
| UAE [40] | -- | -- | -- | -- | ≥1 time/w: M: 77.3% F: 81.4% |
≥1 time/d: M: 41.1% F: 34% |
-- | -- | -- |
Abbreviations: SSBs: sugar-sweetened beverages; M: males; F: females; w: week; d: day; UAE: United Arab Emirates. Salty snacks may include potato chips, French fries, popcorn, crackers. *: Food items categorization was adopted and modified based on a review by Keats et al., 2018 [19,69,70]. The following categories were not included in the table due to limited data: Grains, white roots, tubers and plantains; Pulses (beans, peas, lentils); Nuts and seeds; Eggs; Oils and fats.