Behavioural intention model of facebook usage for weight loss among young women in Sudan

Abstract

Obesity among young Sudanese women has a negative influence on the healthcare system as it raises the expense of medical care and increases the risk of maternal and reproductive health issues. Prior studies on the use of technology to overcome obesity focused mostly on the technological perspective and ignored the health beliefs factors. This study aims to propose and validate the behavioural intention model for using Facebook (FB) for weight loss among young women in Sudan by integrating the Health Belief Model (HBM) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) (C-HBM-TPB). A quantitative research approach was adopted, specifically the survey method. Using purposive sampling, 250 respondents entailing young women who attend fitness and gym centres in Khartoum state (Sudan) were selected. Data analysis was performed using SmartPLS Version 3 based on Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The empirical results revealed that significant factors that influence behavioural intention to use FB for weight loss among the young women in Sudan were as follows: Perceived Susceptibility, Perceived Severity, Perceived Threat, Attitude, Subjective Norm, and Perceived Behavioural Control. In addition, the findings showed that perceived threat had a positive mediation role in the link between perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, and behavioural intention to use FB for weight reduction among young Sudanese women. In this context, the Level of Income was also explored as a moderator variable in the link between Attitude, Subjective Norm, Perceived Behavioural Control, and Behavioural Intention. The findings show that the Level of Income has a positive moderator influence on the association between Attitude and Perceived Behavioural Control and Behavioural Intention. However it has no moderator role in the relationship between Subjective Norm and Behavioural Intention. This study adds to the body of knowledge, particularly in the information systems (IS) domain, by presenting a comprehensive and integrated model capable of explaining 74% of the variance. In addition, according to the results of the Importance- Performance Matrix Analysis (IPMA), Perceived Susceptibility is the most important factor influencing the Behavioural Intention to use FB for weight loss, followed by Perceived Severity, Perceived Threat and Subjective Norm. The integrated C-HBMTPB model can assist creators of FB groups for weight loss in identifying the most important elements impacting the use of FB for weight loss.