The university of Jordan students' concerns and awareness about trans-fatty acids

Total Trans Fatty Acids (TFAs) intake was associated with an increased risk of coronary and cardiovascular diseases and their mortalities. The World Health Organization highlighted the seriousness of TFAs intake and called to ban TFAs from foods or to limit their intake to less than 1% of the total amount of the energy intake. Fast foods are considered to have a high percentage of TFAs. University students spend most of their time outside home which makes them the suitable population to consume these kinds of food. The purpose of this descriptive study was to assess the University of Jordan students' concerns and awareness about TFAs. Four hundred and seventeen students answered a self-reported questionnaire about TFAs from October, 2015-January, 2016. Descriptive statistics, independent sample t test and multiple regression were used to analyze the data. Results showed that students at the University of Jordan were found to have moderate concern relevant to TFAs (Mean± 64 Hekmat Yousef Al-Akash et al. SD; 20.0 ± 5.1), and moderate awareness relevant to TFAs health risks (Mean± SD; 51.5± 15.2). Awareness was predicted from the faculty of students (health faculties), female gender, living status, and family income, which explained 30% of the variance. In conclusion, it is known that high levels of TFAs are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and obesity, especially in young adults. The results of this study showed that concern and awareness of the students about health risks and dietary sources of TFAs was insufficient to make decisions of healthier food selection.