ABSTRACT
The Islamic religion requires fasting from sunrise to sunset during the month
of Ramadan. Previous studies have examined the effect of fasting during
Ramadan on the health of fasting individuals (Iraki et al. 1997; Shah & Nafee 1999). According to Islam, those who are ill, travelling, pregnant or nursing,
menstruating, suffering life-threatening conditions because of hunger and
thirst, threatened brutally to stop fasting, soldiers in war whose fasting may
harm others or may prevent them from saving a life need not fast during
Ramadan (Varli 1991). These individuals fast at a convenient date later or may
give charity if they cannot fast at all. This flexibility offered by the religion may
not be reflected in the attitudes of observers of Islam. It has been shown that
a significant proportion of those who are ill and/or on special diets will fast,
thereby not taking their medication or stopping their diets (Al-Qattan 2000;
Karaagaoglu &Yucecan 2000). The effects of mothers’ fasting on child health
have been restricted to case examples (Najib, Laraque & Leung 1996) and
pregnant women (Malhotra et al. 1989; Opaneye, Villegas & Azeim 1990).
