Assessment of Nutritional Risk Representations in Publicly Available Data in Saudi Arabia: A Triangulated Scoping Study.

Summary

This triangulated scoping study examined publicly accessible nutrition-related datasets in Saudi Arabia to assess whether food availability statistics, dietary intake surveys, and biomarker-based health indicators align coherently. The analysis revealed a notable disconnect: whilst national food security data report substantial availability of key food groups, dietary intake surveys and biomarker assessments indicate low consumption of fruits and vegetables and high prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies and metabolic risk factors. The study's primary contribution is identifying gaps in how publicly available nutrition evidence is integrated and interpreted at the national level.

Regional applicability

This study is geographically specific to Saudi Arabia's food systems and health surveillance infrastructure. The methodological approach to triangulating food availability, dietary intake, and biomarker data may be transferable to United Kingdom nutrition policy assessment, though UK data systems (e.g., National Diet and Nutrition Survey, Biobank) and food environments differ substantially.

Key measures

Fruit and vegetable intake prevalence, per capita food availability (rice, milk, poultry, eggs, red meat, onions, tomatoes, dates), biomarker indicators (hypercholesterolaemia, haemoglobin levels), dataset representativeness, recency, measurement validity, and accessibility

Outcomes reported

The study assessed the completeness and interpretability of publicly available nutrition-related data in Saudi Arabia and examined whether food availability statistics align with biomarker-based indicators of nutritional risk. Key findings included low fruit and vegetable consumption (5.2–10.2% meeting recommendations) despite reported food availability, and high prevalence of hypercholesterolaemia (42.6%) and anaemia (50%).

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