Estimating Dietary Intake and Nutrient Adequacy among Adults in Saudi Arabia: A Population-Based Assessment

Estimating Dietary Intake and Nutrient Adequacy among Adults in Saudi Arabia: A Population-Based Assessment | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Estimating Dietary Intake and Nutrient Adequacy among Adults in Saudi Arabia: A Population-Based Assessment Omar Alhumaidan, Shihana Alakeel, Sarah Alkhunein, Ghadir Fallata This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7262955/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 12 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background Non-communicable diseases are a major health burden in Saudi Arabia; therefore, improving dietary patterns is a key national priority. However, a lack of detailed and updated national dietary intake data hinders evidence-based policy planning. This study aims to update and enhance the National Nutrition Consumption Model (NNC-v2) to enhance a probabilistic, age-stratified assessment of food consumption and nutrient adequacy in Saudi Arabia. Methods The model integrated multiple national data sources, including the Food and Agriculture Organization database, Global Dietary Database, Euromonitor, and General Authority for Statistics in Saudi Arabia. A probabilistic framework was applied using distributions for food supply, consumption, and nutrient composition and adjusted for age and weekly variability. The average requirement cut-point method combined with the Monte Carlo method (10,000 iterations) was used to estimate the prevalence of nutrient inadequacy. Results Food supply was stable from 2018 to 2023, with grains at 21.28 million tons. Mean intake was highest for grains (278 g/day) and proteins (120 g/day). Median energy intake was 2399 kcal/day (males) and 2366 kcal/day (females). Several micronutrients showed substantial inadequacy, including folate (− 97 µg/day), vitamin C (− 28 mg/day), and magnesium (− 113 mg/day in males), affecting over 85% of the population. Median food cost was 368 SR/month. Conclusions The NNC-v2 provides a locally adapted approach for estimating dietary exposure and nutrient adequacy in Saudi Arabia. It can support nutrition policy, public health planning, and regulatory assessment, particularly in settings where dietary survey data are limited. Food intake Nutrient intake Food pattern adequacy Probabilistic modeling Average requirement Monte Carlo method Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Appendix1.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 30 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 30 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 25 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 25 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 21 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 Sep, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 26 Aug, 2025 Editor invited by journal 07 Aug, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 01 Aug, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 01 Aug, 2025 First submitted to journal 31 Jul, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7262955","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":493798133,"identity":"df99383c-75ab-4e81-ad1f-8b81d1166d80","order_by":0,"name":"Omar Alhumaidan","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABAUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACHhAhwdjAwHyAoYKNNC1sCQxnSNDCANTCY0CcFn72s8ekbtRYyPbP7vn84UCZHYO8e48B448a3Foke/LSpHOOSRjPuHN2m8SBc8kMhmfOGDDzHMOtxeBAjpl0DptEYsON3G3MH9uYGQxnpCUwM+BxocH5N0At/yQS59/IefzhYFs9WAvjj394tNwA2pLbJpG44UYOg8TBtsMM8hLJBxh42/D4ZcYbY+vcPgnjjTfSzIB+Oc5jwHP4wGHePtxa+PlzDG/nfKuTnXcj+TEwxKrl5NsbGx/++IZbCwbgMTjAwHCABA1AIN9AmvpRMApGwSgY/gAAO9lUt+tHU4UAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA)","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Omar","middleName":"","lastName":"Alhumaidan","suffix":""},{"id":493798134,"identity":"290805de-bdae-426c-91a1-fab1231379ce","order_by":1,"name":"Shihana Alakeel","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shihana","middleName":"","lastName":"Alakeel","suffix":""},{"id":493798135,"identity":"1b22fa29-c478-48ae-855d-31678543a6e1","order_by":2,"name":"Sarah Alkhunein","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sarah","middleName":"","lastName":"Alkhunein","suffix":""},{"id":493798136,"identity":"93f082ba-4dd9-4a51-8ab1-a90bf841f9c1","order_by":3,"name":"Ghadir Fallata","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ghadir","middleName":"","lastName":"Fallata","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-07-31 13:53:29","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7262955/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7262955/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":88123074,"identity":"a97be864-9aa0-4fd6-8a68-fd840c0b2a85","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-08-01 16:21:37","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":875313,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"EstimatingDietaryIntakeandNutrientAdequacyAmongSaudiAdultsAPopulationBasedAssessmentV11.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7262955/v1_covered_56888eb9-e7ad-489a-81a5-4ac8f9574754.pdf"},{"id":88121791,"identity":"f05ec041-32fe-404a-a119-fdf02c627be2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-08-01 15:57:33","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":58208,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Appendix1.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7262955/v1/b40f1f2cdcc44820dd14e58b.docx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Estimating Dietary Intake and Nutrient Adequacy among Adults in Saudi Arabia: A Population-Based Assessment","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-nutrition","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"nutn","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Nutrition](http://bmcnutr.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/nutn/default.aspx","title":"BMC Nutrition","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Food intake, Nutrient intake, Food pattern, adequacy, Probabilistic modeling, Average requirement, Monte Carlo method","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7262955/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7262955/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003eBackground\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eNon-communicable diseases are a major health burden in Saudi Arabia; therefore, improving dietary patterns is a key national priority. However, a lack of detailed and updated national dietary intake data hinders evidence-based policy planning. This study aims to update and enhance the National Nutrition Consumption Model (NNC-v2) to enhance a probabilistic, age-stratified assessment of food consumption and nutrient adequacy in Saudi Arabia.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe model integrated multiple national data sources, including the Food and Agriculture Organization database, Global Dietary Database, Euromonitor, and General Authority for Statistics in Saudi Arabia. A probabilistic framework was applied using distributions for food supply, consumption, and nutrient composition and adjusted for age and weekly variability. The average requirement cut-point method combined with the Monte Carlo method (10,000 iterations) was used to estimate the prevalence of nutrient inadequacy.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eFood supply was stable from 2018 to 2023, with grains at 21.28\u0026nbsp;million tons. Mean intake was highest for grains (278 g/day) and proteins (120 g/day). Median energy intake was 2399 kcal/day (males) and 2366 kcal/day (females). Several micronutrients showed substantial inadequacy, including folate (\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;97 \u0026micro;g/day), vitamin C (\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;28 mg/day), and magnesium (\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;113 mg/day in males), affecting over 85% of the population. Median food cost was 368 SR/month.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusions\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe NNC-v2 provides a locally adapted approach for estimating dietary exposure and nutrient adequacy in Saudi Arabia. It can support nutrition policy, public health planning, and regulatory assessment, particularly in settings where dietary survey data are limited.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Estimating Dietary Intake and Nutrient Adequacy among Adults in Saudi Arabia: A Population-Based Assessment","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-08-01 15:57:28","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7262955/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-01-30T17:13:39+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-30T15:04:03+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-25T16:12:07+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"166895691344975596939192817650984278871","date":"2026-01-25T15:32:39+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"223469038247740834988601321425172572289","date":"2026-01-21T15:32:28+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-09-21T20:44:56+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"239524458131169638378847653697291695188","date":"2025-09-10T09:17:19+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-08-26T13:57:22+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2025-08-07T05:56:57+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-08-01T12:01:57+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-08-01T11:59:22+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Nutrition","date":"2025-07-31T13:46:22+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-nutrition","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"nutn","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Nutrition](http://bmcnutr.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/nutn/default.aspx","title":"BMC Nutrition","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"52fb65e5-0ee4-4996-a9e9-8c71068ade63","owner":[],"postedDate":"August 1st, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-24T07:39:45+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-08-01 15:57:28","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7262955","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7262955","identity":"rs-7262955","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}