Ramadan Fasting and Exercise Performance

most healthy adults in Muslim communities practice fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. This kind of fasting involves daily abstinence from food and water, from sunrise to sunset, a period that lasts approximately 12 to 17 hours, depending on the season and geographical latitude. Ramadan is a lunar month, which lasts 28 to 30 days and its length changes along the solar year. Ramadan fasting cannot be simply considered as a different diet. The reason is that the pattern and timetable of eating, drinking and sleeping change in addition to alterations in the food composition during Ramadan. In most Muslim countries semi-professional and professional sport activities and competitions are postponed until after sunset, and sometimes even until late at night in the month of Ramadan. Fasting and rescheduling of the competition timetable may both affect an athlete’s performance during this period.