IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i24p13146-d701264.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Dispensing Practices for Weight Management Products in Eastern Saudi Arabia: A Survey of Community Pharmacists

Author

Listed:
  • Mahmoud E. Elrggal

    (Clinical Pharmacy Department, College of Pharmacy, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia
    The two author has the same contribution.)

  • Sarah Ibrahim Alamer

    (Pharmacy Practice Department, College of Clinical Pharmacy, King Faisal University, Al Hofuf 31982, Saudi Arabia
    The two author has the same contribution.)

  • Saad A. Alkahtani

    (Clinical Pharmacy Department, College of Pharmacy, Najran University, Najran 55461, Saudi Arabia)

  • Mohammed Ahmed Alshrahili

    (Pharmacy Department, Armed Forces Hospital Jazan, Jazan 84224, Saudi Arabia)

  • Adnan Alharbi

    (Clinical Pharmacy Department, College of Pharmacy, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia)

  • Bayan Ali Alghamdi

    (Pharmaceutical Care Administration, Armed Forces Hospitals Southern Region, Khamis Mushait 61961, Saudi Arabia)

  • Mohammad Fathullah Zaitoun

    (Pharmaceutical Care Administration, Armed Forces Hospitals Southern Region, Khamis Mushait 61961, Saudi Arabia)

Abstract

Due to changing lifestyles and socioeconomic status, obesity prevalence has been rising in Saudi Arabia, and community pharmacists often counsel patients about its management. The study aimed to evaluate practices of community pharmacists involved in dispensing products for weight control in four cities located in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving community pharmacists in Dammam, Dhahran, Khobar, and Al-Ahsa, using a Likert format questionnaire. Only those who consented to participate were handed the questionnaire. A total of 100 complete responses were analyzed. The median value for packs sold per month for tea containing products Al-Diafa Slimming Tea, Jamue Tea, and Green Tea was ≥6 while the same for orlistat and apple cider vinegar were ≤4. Moreover, >50% of pharmacists mentioned that orlistat and apple cider vinegar were effective while ≥35% mentioned that metformin and Jamue tea were effective. Furthermore, ≥25% mentioned that green tea and Al-Diafa slimming tea were effective. Excluding orlistat, >50% of pharmacists did not know about adverse effects for other products. The rate of dispensing of several weight loss products was significant for participants’ background characteristics, such as time duration of consultation, gender, and age of patients, and pharmacist work experience ( p < 0.05). The tea products and orlistat were the most frequently sold products, and community pharmacists appeared most knowledgeable about the effectiveness and adverse effect of orlistat. The pharmacists seemed to be aware about the effectiveness of other weight loss products; however, their knowledge about their potential adverse effects was unsatisfactory.

Suggested Citation

  • Mahmoud E. Elrggal & Sarah Ibrahim Alamer & Saad A. Alkahtani & Mohammed Ahmed Alshrahili & Adnan Alharbi & Bayan Ali Alghamdi & Mohammad Fathullah Zaitoun, 2021. "Dispensing Practices for Weight Management Products in Eastern Saudi Arabia: A Survey of Community Pharmacists," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-8, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:24:p:13146-:d:701264
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/24/13146/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/24/13146/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Adela Hruby & Frank Hu, 2015. "The Epidemiology of Obesity: A Big Picture," PharmacoEconomics, Springer, vol. 33(7), pages 673-689, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kim, Youngmi & Lee, Haenim & Park, Aely, 2020. "Adverse childhood experiences, economic hardship, and obesity: Differences by gender," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    2. Wendy Hens & Dirk Vissers & Nick Verhaeghe & Jan Gielen & Luc Van Gaal & Jan Taeymans, 2021. "Unsupervised Exercise Training Was Not Found to Improve the Metabolic Health or Phenotype over a 6-Month Dietary Intervention: A Randomised Controlled Trial with an Embedded Economic Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-13, July.
    3. Cezary Wojtyla & Pawel Stanirowski & Pawel Gutaj & Michal Ciebiera & Andrzej Wojtyla, 2021. "Perinatal Outcomes in a Population of Diabetic and Obese Pregnant Women—The Results of the Polish National Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-14, January.
    4. Arnulf Josef Hartl & Johanna Freidl & Daniela Huber, 2023. "Effects of Alpine Natural Health Resources on Human Health and Wellbeing," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(12), pages 1-3, June.
    5. Rafael M. Tassitano & Robert G. Weaver & Maria Cecília M. Tenório & Keith Brazendale & Michael W. Beets, 2020. "Clusters of non-dietary obesogenic behaviors among adolescents in Brazil: a latent profile analysis," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 65(6), pages 881-891, July.
    6. Ivan Parise & Penelope Abbott & Steven Trankle, 2021. "Drivers to Obesity—A Study of the Association between Time Spent Commuting Daily and Obesity in the Nepean Blue Mountains Area," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-14, December.
    7. Cecilia Alcantara Braga Garcia & Karina Cardoso Meira & Alessandra Hubner Souza & Ana Laura de Grossi Oliveira & Nathalia Sernizon Guimarães, 2024. "Obesity and Associated Factors in Brazilian Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Representative Studies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(8), pages 1-23, August.
    8. Sinead O’Mahony & Clare B. O’Donovan & Nuala Collins & Kevin Burke & Gerardine Doyle & Eileen R. Gibney, 2023. "Reformulation of Processed Yogurt and Breakfast Cereals over Time: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-15, February.
    9. Manou Anselma & Mai Jeanette Maidy Chinapaw & Teatske Maria Altenburg, 2018. "Determinants of Child Health Behaviors in a Disadvantaged Area from a Community Perspective: A Participatory Needs Assessment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-14, March.
    10. Silvia Coronado-Ferrer & Antonia Ferrer-Sapena & Rafael Aleixandre-Benavent & Juan Carlos Valderrama Zurián & Lourdes Castelló Cogollos, 2022. "Global Trends in Scientific Research on Pediatric Obesity," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-15, January.
    11. Rafael M. Tassitano & Robert G. Weaver & Maria Cecília M. Tenório & Keith Brazendale & Michael W. Beets, 0. "Clusters of non-dietary obesogenic behaviors among adolescents in Brazil: a latent profile analysis," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 0, pages 1-11.
    12. Nathalia A. B. Souza & Karina A. Rimes-Dias & Janaina C. Costa & Daniela S. Canella, 2022. "Weight Gain and Change in Body Mass Index after Age 20 in the Brazilian Population and Associated Sociodemographic Factors: Data from the National Health Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-14, March.
    13. Hongli Li & Yuanzhong Xu & Yanyan Jiang & Zhiying Jiang & Joshua Otiz-Guzman & Jessie C. Morrill & Jing Cai & Zhengmei Mao & Yong Xu & Benjamin R. Arenkiel & Cheng Huang & Qingchun Tong, 2023. "The melanocortin action is biased toward protection from weight loss in mice," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-16, December.
    14. Pallavi Kompella & Guliang Wang & Russell E. Durrett & Yanhao Lai & Celeste Marin & Yuan Liu & Samy L. Habib & John DiGiovanni & Karen M. Vasquez, 2024. "Obesity increases genomic instability at DNA repeat-mediated endogenous mutation hotspots," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-18, December.
    15. Alessio Pellegrino & Samuele Bacci & Francesco Guido & Andrea Zoppi & Loira Toncelli & Laura Stefani & Maria Boddi & Alessandra Modesti & Pietro Amedeo Modesti, 2023. "Interaction between Geographical Areas and Family Environment of Dietary Habits, Physical Activity, Nutritional Knowledge and Obesity of Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-9, January.
    16. Claire Beale & Erica L. Rauff & Wendy J. O’Brien & Sarah P. Shultz & Philip W. Fink & Rozanne Kruger, 2020. "Are all Sedentary Behaviors Equal? An Examination of Sedentary Behavior and Associations with Indicators of Disease Risk Factors in Women," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-13, April.
    17. Hui Chin Koo & Lay Kim Tan & Geok Pei Lim & Chee Cheong Kee & Mohd Azahadi Omar, 2023. "Obesity and Its Association with Undiagnosed Diabetes Mellitus, High Blood Pressure and Hypercholesterolemia in the Malaysian Adult Population: A National Cross-Sectional Study Using NHMS Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-18, February.
    18. LesLee Funderburk & Thomas Cardaci & Andrew Fink & Keyanna Taylor & Jane Rohde & Debra Harris, 2020. "Healthy Behaviors through Behavioral Design–Obesity Prevention," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-19, July.
    19. Jongnam Hwang & Eun-Young Lee & Chung Gun Lee, 2019. "Measuring Socioeconomic Inequalities in Obesity among Korean Adults, 1998–2015," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-14, May.
    20. Matthew A. Cottam & Heather L. Caslin & Nathan C. Winn & Alyssa H. Hasty, 2022. "Multiomics reveals persistence of obesity-associated immune cell phenotypes in adipose tissue during weight loss and weight regain in mice," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-16, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:24:p:13146-:d:701264. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.