Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on obesity among adults in Jordan

COVID-19 is a severe acute respiratory syndrome that mainly affects the human respiratory system. Unhealthy nutritional habits and obesity are expected as consequences of protective measures including quarantine. Obesity, in its growing prevalence, is a worldwide health issue associated with worsening health conditions. This is a cross-sectional study to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on obesity among Jordanian adults and across epidemiological statuses. Participants were randomly selected, and the survey was distributed on social media networking sites. A total of 672 subjects were surveyed and participated in the study between March and June 2021 via Google Form questionnaire. The results indicated that 74.4% of participants reported that they did not do any physical activity, and 43.5% changed their lifestyle and eating habits for the worse. During the COVID-19 pandemic, almost half of the participants reported an increase in hunger, consuming 3–4 meals/day, and consuming < 1 liter of water/day. Additionally, more than half of the participants reported no change in fat, cereals, and protein consumption, 46.4 % had no change in fruit and vegetable consumption, and 50.6% increased their consumption of sweets. Our results showed a significant increase in the self-reported BMI categories during the COVID-19 pandemic for all ages (p < 0.001). Change in weight and BMI was significantly associated with marital status, education level, living place, family size, family working members, and working status. Participants across all epidemiological statuses displayed a statistically significant increase in BMI. This study was conducted to observe the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on health behaviors and obesity among Jordanian adults and across epidemiological statuses. We found that there were significant negative changes in the lifestyle (physical activity) and eating behaviors of Jordanians during the COVID-19 quarantine which in turn increased their body weight and changed the obesity rate

Using MR-FTIR and Texture Profile to Track the Effect of Storage Time and Temperature on Pita Bread Staling

Textural deterioration of pita bread, PB, due to staling is an important quality parameter during storage. Loss of freshness due to PB staling results in significant quality and economic loss. PB staling was studied using both MR-FTIR spectroscopy and textural profile including time to rupture and tensile and compressive forces. The study was conducted at room temperature (23°C) and freezing temperature (−18°C) over 96 h of storage time after baking. Some physical properties of PB such as loaf weight, dimensions, water activity, and density were measured. MR-FTIR measurement spectra in the wavelength 900–1150 cm−1 corresponding to the “saccharides” regions and the range 3000–3600 cm−1 corresponding to O-H bond stretching vibration were able to clearly detect the PB deterioration at different storage times as shown by statistical significance test. Mechanical measurements of tearing force, time to rupture, and 25% compression force were also found to be good indicators of PB quality deterioration. Time to rupture, however, was found to be the best PB deterioration indicator. In addition, PB stored at room temperature showed a significant deterioration (toughening) compared to that stored at freezing temperature which showed little or nonsignificant deterioration during storage. High negative correlation, r = -0.97, was observed between the 25% compression force and the wavenumber 960 cm−1 at room temperature

A Combined System of Ground Well and Composted Olive Cake for Hot Water Production at Olive Mills

Building a system that consists of a combination of geothermal component (water well (pit)) and heat recovery from aerobic biological fermentation of olive cake for hot water production at an olive mill is examined in this work. Hot water is essential for mill operation and constitutes a main operational cost, and in many countries, including Jordan, it is normally produced using diesel fuel. In this process, treated and untreated olive cake was characterized. Results show that olive cake is rich in crude fiber and NFE, contains moderate amounts of crude protein and fat, and a good amount of ash. The as-received moisture content ranged from 33.3 to 35.6%, while water activity was between 0.93 and 0.96. The total counts, thermophilic bacteria, and the total mold count of fermentation ranged, respectively, from 2.1 × 108 to 2.4 × 108, 1.7 × 104 to 1.9 × 104, and 1.5 × 102 to 1.7 × 102. The temperature results showed that the well and the covered tank led to a rise in water temperature before entering the boiler in the range of 7 to 13°C. The system effected significant raises in water temperature entering the boiler ranging from 19°C up to 25°C, which holds a promising potential for the system to satisfy much of the mills needs at this range of temperature before entering the boiler provided a large enough pile (pile scale up) is used to handle larger flow rates. The exhausted cake may well be utilized as a soil organic fertilizer

Using MR-FTIR and Texture Profile to Track the Effect of Storage Time and Temperature on Pita Bread Staling

Textural deterioration of pita bread, PB, due to staling is an important quality parameter during storage. Loss of freshness due to PB staling results in significant quality and economic loss. PB staling was studied using both MR-FTIR spectroscopy and textural profile including time to rupture and tensile and compressive forces. The study was conducted at room temperature (23°C) and freezing temperature (−18°C) over 96 h of storage time after baking. Some physical properties of PB such as loaf weight, dimensions, water activity, and density were measured. MR-FTIR measurement spectra in the wavelength 900–1150 cm−1 corresponding to the “saccharides” regions and the range 3000–3600 cm−1 corresponding to O-H bond stretching vibration were able to clearly detect the PB deterioration at different storage times as shown by statistical significance test. Mechanical measurements of tearing force, time to rupture, and 25% compression force were also found to be good indicators of PB quality deterioration. Time to rupture, however, was found to be the best PB deterioration indicator. In addition, PB stored at room temperature showed a significant deterioration (toughening) compared to that stored at freezing temperature which showed little or nonsignificant deterioration during storage. High negative correlation, r = -0.97, was observed between the 25% compression force and the wavenumber 960 cm−1 at room temperature

The physicochemical properties, total phenolic, antioxidant activities, and phenolic profile of fermented olive cake

Fermentation of olive cake during 60 days by evaluating the physicochemical properties, total phenolic, antioxidant activities and phenolic profile was investigated. The chemical composition showed that olive cake is rich in crude fiber and carbohydrates (Nitrogen free extract) and contains moderate amounts of crude protein, fat and ash. Total phenolics which are determined by the folin–ciocalteuic method were decreased during fermentation while no change was observed in antioxidant activities and nitrogen and carbon percentages. On the other hand olive cake samples contain little amounts of antioxidants. The HPLC profiles for olive cake extracts contain the highest amount of caffeic acid followed by vanillic acid, gallic acid, and catechin, respectively also phenolic acids and compounds decreased during fermentation. It can be concluded that olive cake fermentation is considered a good procedure to reduce phenolic compounds which could be harmful in using olive cake “as is” for animal feeding or plant fertilizers

Pea Protein Nanoemulsion Effectively Stabilizes Vitamin D in Food Products: A Potential Supplementation during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Vitamin D deficiency is a global issue which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic-related lockdowns. Fortification of food staples with vitamin D provides a solution to alleviate this problem. This research explored the use of pea protein nanoemulsion (PPN) to improve the stability of vitamin D in various food products. PPN was created using a pH-shifting and ultrasonication combined method. The physicochemical properties were studied, including particle size, foaming ability, water holding capacity, antioxidant activity, and total phenolic contents. The fortification of several food formulations (non-fat cow milk, canned orange juice, orange juice powder, banana milk, and infant formula) with vitamin D–PPN was investigated and compared to raw untreated pea protein (UPP) regarding their color, viscosity, moisture content, chemical composition, vitamin D stability, antioxidant activity, and morphology. Finally, a sensory evaluation (quantitative descriptive analysis, and consumer testing) was conducted. The results show that PPN with a size of 21.8 nm protected the vitamin D in all tested products. PPN may serve as a potential carrier and stabilizer of vitamin D in food products with minimum effects on the taste and color. Hence, PPN may serve as a green and safe method for food fortification during the COVID-19 pandemic