Effect of Fasting With Two Meals on Insulin Resistance Indices of Metabolic Syndrome

Insulin resistance is a feature of a number of clinical disorders, including type 2 diabetes/glucose intolerance, obesity, dyslipidaemia and hypertension clustering in the so-called metabolic syndrome.The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome, as defined by the 2001 ATP III criteria, was 22 percent, with an age-dependent increase.Data demonstrates that the prevalence has continued to increase, particularly in women.Hyperinsulinemia occurring in response to insulin resistance may play an important role in the genesis of metabolic syndrome. Prevention or reduction of obesity, particularly abdominal obesity, is the main therapeutic goal in patients with the metabolic syndrome .Weight reduction is optimally achieved with a multimodality approach including diet, exercise, and possible pharmacologic therapy, as with orlistat .It has been shown that many different diets such as Mediterranean diet, DASH diet, Foods with low glycemic index and low saturated fat diet, independent of weight loss, by reducing insulin resistance may be effective in improving the metabolic syndrome .During the month of Ramadan (The ninth month of the Islamic calendar), Muslims fast every day from dawn to sunset. They refrain from drinking and eating for about 12h intervals. There are currently no reports on the effect of Ramadan fasting (only two meals per day) on metabolic syndrome. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the insulin resistance indices in the subjects undergoing this type of fasting for a thirty days period.