Recovery of Body Composition after the Fasting of Ramadan in Young Sub-Saharan African Athletes

The fasting of Ramadan is causing circadian rhythm and body composition changes. It has been described a decrease of certain parameters during this period. Thus, the objective of our study was to evaluate the recovery of these parameters after the fasting of Ramadan. An experimental study was carried out among 18 students of the National Institute of Sciences of Physical Education and Sport (INSEPS) in Dakar. They were all male, black, aged 21 to 30 years and regularly practiced fasting. Data were collected on the 15th day of Ramadan and 6 weeks after Ramadan. Anthropometric and cardiovascular parameters were measured. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated from the anthropometric parameters such as weight and size by Quetelet’s formula. The parameters of body composition such as percentages of body fat, muscle mass and visceral fat were measured by an impedance meter (OMRON BF 511). Then, they allowed us to calculate percentage of fat free mass, fat free mass index (FFMI) and skeletal muscle mass index (SMMI). No significant difference was found for cardiovascular parameters between the two periods. However, certain parameters such as weight, BMI, fat mass, fat free mass and FFMI increased significantly six weeks after Ramadan. A strong trend of increasing was found in the percentage of fat mass (p = 0.05), while the percentage of muscle mass slightly tended to decrease after Ramadan. The principal component analysis showed that the percentages of body fat, fat free mass and muscle mass as well as fat mass were the most contributory parameters of the body composition in both times. The fasting of Ramadan causes transient changes in body composition. Long-term changes in certain parameters such as fat mass were necessary for a real effect on health. The association of Ramadan fasting with that of Sunnah would be necessary to obtain this benefit.