Self-Care by Muslim Women during Ramadan Fasting to Protect Nutritional and Cardiovascular Health

Marta López-Bueno, Ángel Fernández-Aparicio, Emilio González-Jiménez, Miguel Ángel Montero-Alonso and Jacqueline Schmidt-RioValle
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Marta López-Bueno: Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Granada, 52071 Melilla, Spain
Ángel Fernández-Aparicio: Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Granada, Av. Ilustración, 60, 18016 Granada, Spain
Emilio González-Jiménez: Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Granada, Av. Ilustración, 60, 18016 Granada, Spain
Miguel Ángel Montero-Alonso: Department of Statistics, O.I. Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, Av. Investigación, 11, 18016 Granada, Spain
Jacqueline Schmidt-RioValle: Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Granada, Av. Ilustración, 60, 18016 Granada, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 23, 1-11

Abstract: The practice of Ramadan involves a series of changes in lifestyle, mainly in eating habits. The research aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of overweight-obesity, the degree of compliance with dietary recommendations and the effects of religious fasting on cardiovascular health among a population of Muslim women living in Melilla, a Spanish city in North Africa. A follow-up cohort study was conducted on 62 healthy adult women (33.6 ± 12.7 years). Anthropometric and body composition parameters were obtained using bioimpedance and dietary records. All of the participants were overweight or obese, especially due to the non-compliance with dietary recommendations; however, more than 60% considered their weight was appropriate or even low. By the end of Ramadan, the women’s body mass index and fat component values had fallen significantly ( p < 0.001), but this loss was later recovered. Dietary records revealed an excessive consumption of lipids and sodium, and the presence of a high waist-to-hip ratio. All of these factors are related to cardiovascular risk. In conclusion, promoting nutritional health and encouraging year-round self-care among adult Muslim women is necessary in order to ensure healthy fasting during Ramadan.

Keywords: Ramadan; obesity; bioimpedance; anthropometry; eating habits (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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