Diet quality indices serve as standardized tools to evaluate adherence to dietary guidelines and inform nutrition and public health research. The present study aimed to develop the Saudi Healthy Eating Index (SHEI) to assess adherence to the 2024 version of the Saudi Healthy Plate (SHP) guide. Methods: Twelve components were selected for the SHEI based on the key dietary recommendations of the SHP guide. All components are scored between zero and ten points, except for components measuring the same dietary aspect, which are assigned up to five points. The total adherence score ranges between zero (no adherence) and 100 (complete adherence). Results: Maximum scores and standards were assigned to each component as follows: fruits (ten points, ≥ 0.6 servings/1000 kcal), vegetables (ten points, ≥ 1.1 servings/1000 kcal), grains (five points, ≥ 3.5 servings/1000 kcal), whole grain ratio (five points, ratio of whole grains to total grains ≥ 0.5), protein foods (five points, ≥ 2.2 servings/1000 kcal), seafood and plant-based protein foods (five points, ≥ 0.9 servings/1000 kcal), dairy products (ten points, ≥ 0.8 servings/1000 kcal), beverages (ten points, only water or non-sweetened beverages consumed), fatty acid ratio (ten points, ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids ≥ 2.6), saturated fats (ten points, ≤ 7% of energy intake), added sugar (ten points, ≤ 5% of energy intake), and sodium (ten points, ≤ 0.8 g of sodium per 1000 kcal). Conclusion: The SHEI was designed to measure diet quality by determining adherence to the SHP guide recommendations. Future research is needed to evaluate its validity and reliability and to explore its potential applications in public health nutrition.

Although there is an increased interest in zinc intake and its role in boosting immunity, to our knowledge, no studies have investigated the relationship between dietary zinc intake and immunity in Saudi adults. This cross-sectional study aimed to measure the extent to which the dietary zinc impacted the immune health of 252 Saudi adults aged 18 years and above. Immune health was assessed using the Immune Status Questionnaire (ISQ), and dietary zinc intake was estimated using an adapted zinc-specific version of the Saudi Food Frequency Questionnaire (SFFQ). Three scores were calculated for use in the statistical analyses (zinc intake score, immune status score, and health status score). A linear regression analysis was used to investigate the association between the dietary zinc intake and immune and health status scores. The means of dietary zinc intake, ISQ, and health status scores were 46.94, 7.10, and 7.84, respectively. We found that a high zinc intake score was directly associated with immune status score (p = 0.006) but was not associated with the health status score. The association remained significant after controlling for socio-demographic factors. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Background: The use of online food ordering applications is widespread; however, to date, there have been no studies on the effect of the menu calorie labeling in online food ordering applications on the consumers’ dietary habits and food choices in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the response of the consumers to the menu energy-labeling on online food ordering applications in Saudi Arabia by exploring: (a) the consumers’ preference and frequency of ordering from online food applications; (b) the consumers' self-reported knowledge, awareness, and interest towards menu calorie information on online food ordering applications; (c) the impact of menu calorie information on online food ordering applications on consumers’ food choices. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted between October and November of 2022. A total of 419 participants were recruited using an online questionnaire. Results: The findings showed that most participants (59%) preferred to order using online food ordering applications. Saving time and effort are the main reasons for using online food ordering applications (61%). Nearly half of the participants (45%) were interested in viewing calorie information on online food ordering applications menus and (47%) did notice calorie information displayed on the menu when ordering from an online food ordering application. Calorie information in online food ordering applications menus is primarily utilized to monitor intake for weight maintenance (19%). The ability to calculate energy requirements and interest in viewing calorie information on online food ordering applications menus were linked to younger age and a higher level of education (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Overall, consumers showed limited awareness and interest towards the menu calorie information displayed in the online food ordering applications. These findings highlight the importance of developing public health programs to increase public awareness about calorie labeling on menus to aid in the success and effectiveness of the calorie labeling in online food ordering applications as a tool to promote balanced energy intake. Further research is needed to understand the most effective way to deliver calorie information to consumers on an online food ordering application.

Numerous efforts have been directed toward promoting nutrition in Arab countries. Implementing national nutrition plans and strategies is essential for addressing a country’s nutritional situation synergistically and cost-effectively. Many Arabic-speaking countries have developed national nutrition plans and/or strategies. Thus, an Arabic national nutrition plans assessment tool is necessary to revise current plans and improve the quality of future plans in the region. This study aimed to translate and evaluate the validity and reliability of the Arabic-translated National Nutrition Plans checklist. After translating the checklist into Arabic, the Delphi technique was used to evaluate face validity using the Face Validity Index (FVI). Test-retest reliability was evaluated by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficient and inter-rater reliability using Fleiss’ Kappa. This resulted in acceptable face validity (FVI values > 0.83). The test-retest reliability was excellent (ICC = 0.98, SEM = 1.96, MDC = 5.43), and the inter-rater reliability achieved substantial agreement between the raters (Fleiss’ kappa [95% CI] = 0.61 [0.59–0.63]). This demonstrates that the Arabic-translated National Nutrition Plans checklist is valid and reliable. The Arabic-translated National Nutrition Plans checklist lays the foundation for the systematic assessment and development of national nutrition plans and strategies in Arab countries.

Background: Measuring the quality of life of a population provides a baseline for future comparisons and is essential for decision-makers, especially regarding resource allocation. Despite substantial investment in healthcare services in Saudi Arabia, no study has captured the general Saudi population’s overall health-related quality of life. This study utilized existing healthcare system data to develop reference values for the Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System - Global Health (PROMIS-GH) survey for the population in Saudi Arabia and to examine associated sociodemographic predictors of health-related quality of life. Methods: From a nationwide survey conducted by the Saudi Ministry of Health, records of 40,000 out of 37,160,000 individuals were randomly selected with stratification for sex, age groups and regions. Participants received notifications via the national digital health platform (Sehhaty) to complete the PROMIS-GH survey. Results: A total of 3,630 individuals filled out the survey (response rate of 9.1%); the mean age was 38.6 ± 12.1 years, and 60.1% (n = 2182) were men. The general Saudi population had mean T-scores of 50.5 (± 10.3) for global mental health and 48.5 (± 9.8) for global physical health, both classified as “very good” based on the established Saudi-specific thresholds. Being Saudi or female was associated with lower physical and mental health scores. Conclusion: The health-related quality of life scores in Saudi Arabia are classified as “very good”; however, disparities exist. Future studies are needed to further investigate the reasons behind the sociodemographic and regional variations in HRQoL among the general population of Saudi Arabia.

Background: The Saudi Healthy Eating Index (SHEI) was developed to evaluate adherence to the Saudi Healthy Plate Guide 2024. This study aimed to conduct a preliminary assessment of the psychometric properties of the SHEI. Methods: A secondary analysis was conducted using data from a cross-sectional study on 702 Saudi adults in Riyadh and Al-Madinah regions. Dietary data were collected using multiple-pass 24-h recalls, along with anthropometric and sociodemographic information. The SHEI was evaluated for content validity, concurrent validity, construct validity, internal consistency reliability, and component correlations. Results: The SHEI showed strong concurrent validity with the HEI-2015 ( r = 0.867, p < 0.001). The SHEI also demonstrated evidence of construct validity, with total scores averaging 52.64 ± 11.05 and clear variation across individuals and score quintiles ( p < 0.001). Smokers had significantly lower scores (48.8 ± 0.1) compared to non-smokers (53.3 ± 0.5), while differences by sex, education level, and family income were modest and non-significant. The index correlated weakly with energy intake ( r = −0.103, p = 0.006) and yielded moderate to high scores for exemplary menus. It also revealed five underlying dietary dimensions, accounting for 57.39% of total variance. However, internal consistency was low (Cronbach’s α = 0.237), and correlations among components ranged from moderate to weak. Conclusion: The findings support the validity of the SHEI but indicate limited reliability. Future validity and reliability studies of the SHEI should aim for better representation by addressing sample size and food database limitations.