Socio-demographic and lifestyle factors associated with understanding fast food consumption among adults in Cambodia

Background: Over the past decades, fast food has been rapidly gaining popularity and availability worldwide. Its consequential impact on human health is among the highest in terms of non-communicable diseases. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the level of understanding of fast food consumption among adults in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. Methods: : A cross-sectional analytical study aimed to investigate the level of understanding of factors associated with fast food consumption, among adults in Phnom Penh. Multi-stage random sampling was used to select 749 respondents from 12 communes of five districts in Phnom Penh. A structured questionnaire was used to assess the level of understanding of fast food consumption, and associated factors. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, together with bivariate and multivariable logistic regression. Crude odds ratios (CORs) and adjusted odds ratios (AORs) with 95% confident intervals (CI) were calculated to show the strength of associations. Results: : The understanding of factors associated with fast food consumption was poor in 52.07% (95% CI: 48.48-55.66), fair in 22.70% (95% CI: 19.69-25.70) and good in 25.23% (95% CI: 22.12-28.35) of those surveyed. After adjusting for other covariates, unsatisfactory levels of knowledge around fast food consumption were found to be significantly associated with not taking regular exercise (AOR = 1.53; 95% CI: 1.15-2.25; p<0.001) and sleeping less than eight hours per night (AOR = 1.64; 95% CI: 1.09-2.12; p=0.014). Conclusion: Health promotion and disease prevention should be conducted among at-risk populations in order to raise the level of understanding of factors around fast food consumption.