The Effects of Ramadan Fasting on Physical Field-Expedient Measures in Army Cadets

Abstract

<strong>Introduction: </strong>Given the limited number of studies on Ramadan fasting and military performance, we conducted this study to identify the effect of Ramadan fasting on physical fitness performances in army cadets. <strong>Methods:</strong> Twenty healthy males were randomly selected from a larger sample group. The subjects were divided into fasting (n=10) and non-fasting (n=10) groups. They performed various military physical fitness tests (pull ups, sit ups, swimming obstacle course, push ups, obstacle course, and one mile run) in three separate periods (1^st: baseline, 2^nd: pre-Ramadan fasting, and 3^rd: post-Ramadan fasting). All the cadets also completed three-day food records prior to each exercise testing. <strong>Results:</strong> Repeated measures ANOVA showed non-significant differences between the groups for pull ups, sit ups, swimming obstacle course, and push ups (P>0.05). However, towards the end of the testing (when performing the obstacle course and the one-mile run) the fasting group showed significantly lower performance (P0.05) was noted in various nutritional parameters across the three food recording periods. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> Ramadan fasting does not affect overall military fitness performance; however, it seems that fasting cadets cannot handle repeated maximal exercise testing efficiently possibly due to inadequate recovery between tests