Community health perceptions of smoking, physical activity and eating habits: A cross-sectional, descriptive study

Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have become a major health problem in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A number of NCDs share predisposing risk factors related to an unhealthy lifestyle. Aims: The aim of this study is to measure healthy lifestyle awareness in reference to smoking, physical activity and healthy diet among the population of the Northern Emirates of the UAE. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at primary health-care centres in the Northern Emirates of the UAE. Results: A total of 2373 participants were surveyed. The mean age of participants was 32.9 years (standard deviation ± 10.6), with the majority being females (64%). Almost three-quarters of participants perceived that smoking had harmful effects on their health and 14.2% reported being current smokers. The majority of participants recognised the benefits of physical activity for improving the health of lungs, the heart, weight loss and promoting health. Only 23.9% of participants admitted that they wanted ‘total change’ to their physical activity habits and a high percentage (63.4%) of participants agreed that certain food types could lead to disease. Conclusions: Overall, participants in this study have shown a high level of awareness on the dangers of smoking, the necessity for everyday physical activity, and importance of healthy dietary habits despite the fact that the prevalence of those indices does not match with awareness levels. Further research is recommended to explore and identify the barriers and factors associated with low levels of practice within the UAE community.