The effect of Ramadan fasting and physical activity on homocysteine and fibrinogen concentrations in overweight women (ahead of publication)

Increased levels of certain markers like fibrinogen and Homocysteine are independently associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. Considering the numerous favorable effects of healthful nutrition and physical activity on reducing the risk of atherosclerosis, in this study we intend to take into account fasting and physical activity during the month of Ramadan and their impacts on Homocysteine and fibrinogen concentrations in overweight women. In this experiment, 22 overweight and obese women with a body mass index (BMI) of greater than 25 kg/m2 aging from 20 to 45 years were enrolled into two groups by means of targeted-sampling method. One group involved fasting accompanied with regular physical activity (12 subjects) and the other group involved only fasting (10 subjects). The protocol for the physical activity group consisted of three 60-minute sessions of aerobic exercise per week with a 50%- 65% heart rate reserved. Towards the end of Ramadan, the anthropometric and blood levels of Homocysteine and fibrinogen were closely measured. Data were analyzed using repeated measures and the significance level of P≤0 /05 was considered. A month of fasting along with regular physical activity did not prove to have any noticeable effects on the level of fibrinogen while a significant increase in the Homocysteine levels was discovered (P <0/05). Comparing the two protocols lead us to the conclusion that one month of fasting with or without regular physical activity did not seem to make a noteworthy difference on the levels of fibrinogen and Homocysteine. The results of this study demonstrated that fasting with or without regular exercise could not significantly decrease the body fat percentage. Furthermore, it seems that unhealthy and inadequate nutrition during Ramadan as well as insufficient intensity and duration of exercise are the causes of fibrinogen and Homocysteine levels to grow dramatically.