Effects of Ramadan fasting on Waist Circumference, Blood Pressure, Lipid Profile, and Blood Sugar on a Sample of Healthy Kuwaiti Men and Women

The effects of Ramadan fasting on waist circumference, lipid profile, blood pressure and blood glucose was investigated in 60 healthy Kuwaiti volunteers consisting of 41 males and 19 females. Their ages ranged between 24 and 56 years in the male group, and from 23 to 33 years in the female group. Each volunteer had observed fasting for 12 hours a day for 21 days including menstruating women. There were no dietary restrictions in the study. Blood pressure, waist circumference and blood samples for total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, VLDL cholesterol, serum triglycerides and blood glucose were determined on the 1st and 4th week of Ramadan. In male subjects, the waist circumference, total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol were significantly reduced at the end of the 21-day fast period (p<0.0001, p< 0.05, p<0.01 respectively). Serum triglycerides, VLDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol were not significantly increased. There were no significant changes in mean blood pressure and blood glucose among the men. In the female group, waist circumference was significantly reduced (P<0.001), whereas total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, VLDL cholesterol, mean blood pressure and blood glucose were not significantly decreased. The HDL cholesterol of the women was increased compared to pre-fasting, but the difference was not statistically significant. In the study population in general, the Atherogenic Index [(total cholesterol-HDL cholesterol)/HDL cholesterol] was significantly decreased (p<0.01). The reduction in waist circumference and Atherogenic Index were probably due to the beneficial effect of Ramadan fasting. We believe that fasting during Ramadan beneficially influences the waist circumference and lipid profiles of the subjects in this sample of Kuwaiti population. The benefits were more pronounced in the male compared to the female subjects.