Surveying the Dietary Diversity of Fasting Individuals in Qom in Ramadan

Introduction : In Islam, fasting means abstaining from food and beverages from sunrise Azaan to sunset Azaan. This long period of hunger with the increasing feeling of weakness leads to changes in nutritional habits and behaviors. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the dietary intake of different food groups with a view to see the effect of food diversity on nutritional needs of fasting individuals in Qom. Methods: This descriptive-analytic study was performed on 120 fasting individuals in Qom city in Ramadan in 2014. The respondents -aged between 20-45 years old- were selected from Qom. A dietary records questionnaire was used to survey the dietary intake. And all of questionnaires were collected after three days of recording. The food items were determined on the basis of consumption units and groups and then compared with recommended values. Findings : Consumption of vegetables, meat and meat products and dairy groups was significantly lower than the recommended values and consumption of fruits was higher than recommended values. Moreover, the intake of bread and cereal group and was not statistically different from the recommended values. Conclusion : According to the findings of this study, the dietary intake of fasting individuals in Qom had not enough diversity. Therefore, in accordance with the undeniable role of proper and enough food intake from different groups on health, it seems necessary for fasting individuals to have a nutrition education for proper food selection from various food groups.