Voluntary Fasting to Control Post-Ramadan Weight Gain among Overweight and Obese Women
Journal Title: Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal - Year 2015, Vol 15, Issue 1
Abstract
Objectives: Tis study aimed to examine the effectiveness of an Islamic voluntary fasting intervention to control post-Ramadan weight gain. Methods: Tis study was conducted between July and November 2011. Two weight loss intervention programmes were developed and implemented among groups of overweight or obese Malay women living in the Malaysian cities of Putrajaya and Seremban: a standard programme promoting control of food intake according to national dietary guidelines (group B) and a faith-based programme promoting voluntary fasting in addition to the standard programme (group A). Participants’ dietary practices (i.e., voluntary fasting practices, frequency of fruit/vegetable consumption per week and quantity of carbohydrates/protein consumed per day), body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, fasting blood high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and total cholesterol (TC):HDL-C ratio were assessed before Ramadan and three months post-Ramadan. Results: Voluntary fasting practices increased only in group A (P <0.01). Additionally, the quantity of protein/carbohydrates consumed per day, mean diastolic pressure and TC:HDL-C ratio decreased only in group A (P <0.01, 0.05, 0.02 and <0.01, respectively). Frequency of fruit/vegetable consumption per week, as well as HDL-C levels, increased only in group A (P = 0.03 and <0.01, respectively). Although changes in BMI between the groups was not signifcant (P = 0.08), BMI decrease among participants in group A was signifcant (P <0.01). Conclusion: Control of post-Ramadan weight gain was more evident in the faith-based intervention group. Healthcare providers should consider faith-based interventions to encourage weight loss during Ramadan and to prevent post-Ramadan weight gain among patients.
Authors and Affiliations
Suriani Ismail| Departments of Community Health Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia& Department of Community Health Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia , Khadijah Shamsuddin| Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia, Khalib A. Latiff| Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia, Hazizi A. Saad| Departments of Nutrition & Dietetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia, Latifah A. Majid| Department of al-Quran and Sunnah, Faculty of Islamic Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia, Fadlan M. Othman| Department of al-Quran and Sunnah, Faculty of Islamic Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia
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