Do Ramadan Fasting Restrictions Alter Eating Behaviours in Obese Women?

• Published in: Journal of religion and health Vol. 53; no. 1; pp. 135 - 140
• Main Authors: Savas, Esen, Öztürk, Zeynel Abidin, Tanrıverdi, Derya, Kepekçi, Yalçın
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer 01-02-2014; Springer US; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Aging; Behavioral psychology; Bloomers; Body Mass Index; Ceremonial Behavior; Clinical Psychology; College students; Eating disorders; Eating habits; Fasting; Fasting - psychology; Feeding and Eating Disorders - epidemiology; Feeding and Eating Disorders - psychology; Feeding Behavior - psychology; Female; Humans; Islam - psychology; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Obesity; Obesity - epidemiology; Obesity - psychology; Original Paper; Overweight; Public Health; Questionnaires; Ramadan; Religion and Psychology; Religious Studies; Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires; Turkey - epidemiology; Turkey; Ramadan; Eating behaviours; Obese women
• ISSN: 0022-4197; 1573-6571
• DOI: 10.1007/s10943-012-9605-x

Ramadan fasting can be considered as a kind of dietary restriction. Eating restriction is a risk factor for later development of eating disorders. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether Ramadan fasting changes the eating behaviours of obese women. Our sample consisted of 34 obese women who fasted during the Ramadan month. The data were collected by using Questionnaire Form, Eating Attitude Test (EAT) and Bulimic Investigatory Test, Edinburgh (BITE). No statistically significant differences were found between the scores of EAT, BITE, BMI, which were administered within the weeks before and after Ramadan. According to our results, Ramadan fasting restrictions do not seem to change the eating behaviours of obese women.