Jordan is witnessing an escalating pace of nutrition transition, which may be associated with an increased burden of malnutrition and related non-communicable diseases. This review analyzes the nutrition situation in Jordan by exploring specific nutrition indicators, namely infant and young child feeding, low birthweight, micronutrient deficiencies, anthropometric indicators, and food consumption patterns. Results showed that although most children were ever breastfed and early initiation of breastfeeding had a two-fold increasing trend, rates of exclusive breastfeeding below 6 months of age and continued breastfeeding until two years of age were low. Complementary feeding indicators, particularly minimum diet diversity and minimum acceptable diet standards, were suboptimal. An overall low burden of stunting, wasting, and underweight among children under 5 years and remarkable progress in optimizing iodine status among school-aged children were reported. Conversely, the burden of low birthweight and overweight/obesity exacerbated, coexisting with anemia, vitamin A deficiency, and vitamin D deficiency. Overall, fruit and vegetable consumption were inadequate. The consumption of soft drinks and salt on the other hand was higher than recommended. This review acknowledges the double burden of malnutrition in Jordan and recommends the prioritization and evaluation of interventions towards improving the population’s nutritional status and achieving nutrition targets.

Background. The role of whole grains, refined cereals, and legumes in preventing or initiating colorectal cancer (CRC) is still uncertain. The aim of this study is to examine the possible association between the consumption of whole grains, refined cereals, and legumes and the risk of developing CRC among Jordanian population. Methods. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to collect dietary data with regard to intake of whole grains, refined cereals, and legumes. A total of 220 diagnosed CRC participants and 281 CRC-free control participants matched by age, gender, occupation, and marital status were recruited. Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds of developing CRC in relation to the consumption of different types of whole grains, refined cereals, and legumes. Results. The odds ratio (OR) for developing CRC among cases consumed refined wheat bread at all meals was 3.1 compared with controls (95% CI: 1.2-7.9, P-Trend = 0.001); whereas the OR associated with whole wheat bread was 0.44 (95% CI: 0.22-0.92, P-Trend = 0.001). The statistical evaluation for daily consumption of rice suggested a direct association with the risk of developing CRC, OR = 3.0 (95% CI: 0.27-33.4, P-Trend = 0.020). Weekly consumption of macaroni was associated with CRC with OR of 2.4 (95% CI: 1.1-5.3, P-Trend = 0.001). The consumption of corn, bulgur, lentils, and peas suggested a protective trend, although the trend was not statistically significant. Conclusion. This study provides additional indicators of the protective role of whole grains and suggests a direct association between consumption of refined grains and higher possibility for developing CRC.

The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an emerging respiratory infection with severe impacts on the nutritional status of the worldwide population. This cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the food insecurity, dietary diversity, and food-related coping strategies in Jordan during the pandemic using an online, self-administered questionnaire. Among the 740 adults who completed the survey, the prevalence of food security was 84.1%, whereas 2% and 13.9% were moderately and severely food-insecure, respectively. The determinants of food insecurity were educational level, monthly income, marital status, availability of health insurance, and type of residence. In addition, food insecurity was significantly higher among the participants who consumed two or fewer meals per day (p = 0.015). Moreover, an acceptable food consumption score was shown among 76.2% of the participants, and the remaining participants were at borderline (14.1%) or had poor scores (9.7%), with a significant association between food insecurity and food consumption scores (p < 0.001). The food-related coping strategies studied were significantly associated with food insecurity at both levels (p < 0.001) and were more evident in the severely food-insecure group. These findings highlight the adverse effects of COVID-19 restrictions on nutritional status, especially among food-insecure households, which might reduce food accessibility due to economic difficulties.

No abstract

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic along with its confinement period boosted lifestyle modifications and impacted women and men differently which exacerbated existing gender inequalities. The main objective of this paper is to assess the gender-based differentials in food consumption patterns, dietary diversity and the determinants favoring weight change before and amid the COVID-19 pandemic among Arab men and women from 10 Arab countries.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted based on a convenience sample of 12,447 households' family members (mean age: 33.2 ± 12.9; 50.1% females) and information from participants aged 18 years and above was collected about periods before and during the pandemic.ResultsFindings showed that, during the COVID-19 period, the dietary diversity, declined by 1.9% among females compared to males (0.4%) (p &lt; 0.001) and by 1.5% among overweight participants (p &lt; 0.001) compared to their counterparts.ConclusionsTo conclude, gender-sensitive strategies and policies to address weight gain and dietary diversity during emergent shocks and pandemics are urgently needed in the region.