Twenty-four College of Health Science students at Qatar University’s (QU) Human Nutrition Department successfully presented their graduation research projects.
Under the supervision of Dr. Maya Bassil, students Nour Ghazal, Ghalya Bukshaisha, Shaikha Al-Zeyara presented their study on “Risk and Determinants of Sarcopenia in People with Diabetes: Findings from Qatar Biobank Cohort.” They found that Qatari adults with diabetes consumed less total and animal protein, have lower muscle mass and strength and are more likely to suffer from sarcopenia.
Another group of students, presented their study titled “Does following vegetarian diets result in greater weight loss? Findings from Qatar Biobank,” conducted by Shouq Abdulla and Noora Al Musaifri. They found no effect of following a vegetarian diet on body weight parameters. However, following a low-calorie diet was associated with lower body mass index.
The entitled “Evaluation of the Effect of Different Antimicrobials on the Quality and Shelf-life of Ready to Eat Hummus,” was supervised by Dr. Layal Karam and presented by Fatima Ghonim, Salma Ghonim and Shama Al-Ahmed. They reported that treatments that included vinegar used alone or in combination had significantly higher antimicrobial effectiveness, thus providing a potential natural method for hummus preservation and shelf-life extension.
Under Prof. Zumin Shi’s supervision, students Shouq Al-Marri, Moudhi Al-Hajri and Asma Sultan presented their study on “Tea and Coffee consumption patterns and glycemic control in Qatari adults with diabetes.” They found that Qatari adults with diabetes who showed high consumption of Arabic coffee and tea and who were taking hypertensive medications and using insulin injections, had a better glycemic control compared to those with lower Arabic beverage consumption.
The next project titled “Cross-sectional study of the Association between Dietary Patterns and Total Urinary Phthalate Concentrations Among US Adults,” supervised by Dr. Tahra El Obeid was presented by Maryam Al Tamimi, Asma Marzughi, Kaltham Al Malki and Hanan Nur Hossain. They found that the Mediterranean diet significantly associated with lower concentrations of specific phthalate biomarkers, while the Western dietary pattern was associated with higher phthalate biomarker concentrations.
Under Prof. Abdelhamid Kerkadi, students Noora Al-Attiyah, Sara Al-Mahmoud, Khulood Saeed presented their study on “Relationship between adiposity indices and bone mineral density at different sites among females in Qatar.” They reported that in women, adiposity indices were positively correlated with Bone Mineral Density (BMD), at all BMD sites in younger age groups and negatively associated within the older age groups for certain BMD sites.
The next project, supervised by Prof. Reema Tayeem, “Consumption of Fruits and vegetables is associated with gastric cancer risk: Findings from case-control study” was presented by Maryam Al-Jumaily, Noora Al-Naimi and Rawdhah Al-Amer. They found that although many fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of gastric cancer, others may increase it. The method of vegetable and fruit preparation may affect the nutritive value.
The project titled “High folate status is associated with decreased metabolic syndrome in the post-folic acid fortification period in US adults-data from National Health and National Examination Surveys, 2007-2018,” supervised by Prof. Vijay Ganji was presented by Hamda Yousuf, Mai El-Shaer and Weaam Ahmad. They concluded that serum total folate and 5-menthyl tetrahydrofolate concentrations are inversely associated with the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the adult US population.
Source: Qatar University
