Influence of an intervention program promoting voluntary fasting practices and its perceived barriers among overweight or obese Muslim women working in the public sector, Malaysia

@#Introduction: This article aims to describe the effect of an intervention to promote the practice of voluntary Islamic fasting and its barriers among a group of overweight and obese Muslim women working in the public sector in Malaysia. Materials and methods: In this quasi-experimental study, an intervention to encourage voluntary fasting was delivered in a half day seminar, supported by relevant booklets prepared. A self-administered questionnaire was used to capture data on voluntary fasting practices and its perceived barriers before and four months after the intervention. Data was analysed using Mc Nemar test to compare the proportion before and after the intervention. Significant level was set at p<0.05. Results: A total of 56 women were recruited. Their mean age was 36.65 years, most were married, had formal education up to secondary level and median income of RM 3000 per month. At baseline, 60.7% of them have practiced voluntary fasting. After intervention, the number of participants who practices voluntary fasting increased with a significant increase in three types of voluntary fasting (i.e. Mondays only, Thursdays only and 6 days in Shawal). The highest barrier to practice voluntary fasting was having no motivation to do so, followed by work commitment, health problems and family commitment. Discussion and Conclusion: Most of the respondents could practice voluntary fasting regularly if motivated to do so and backed by social support both at work and at home.

Effect of Music Tempo on Attentional Focus and Perceived Exertion during Self-selected Paced Walking.

This study investigated the influence of music on the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and attentional focus during walking at a self-selected pace. Fifteen overweight and obese women volunteered to participate in the study. They underwent four sessions: the first for incremental maximal test and anthropometric measurement followed by three experimental sessions. After the first session, they were exposed to three 30-minute walking sessions at a self-selected pace in a counterbalanced order: fast-tempo music (FT), medium-tempo music (MT) and no-music control (NM). Borg's RPE Scale and an Attentional Focus Questionnaire were used to measure the perceptual response and attentional focus, respectively. Results showed that the RPE was higher in the no-music control than in the medium-tempo music (12.05 ± 0.6 vs. 10.5 ± 0.5). Furthermore, dissociative attentional focus was greater for both conditions with music in comparison with the no-music control (NM= 39.0 ± 4.1; MT= 48.4 ± 4.1 and FT= 47.9 ± 4.5). The results indicated that the use of music during walking can modulate attentional focus, increasing dissociative thought, and medium-tempo music can reduce the RPE.

Monosodium L-glutamate in soup reduces subsequent energy intake from high-fat savoury food in overweight and obese women.

The umami seasoning, monosodium L-glutamate (MSG), has been shown to increase satiety in normal body weight adults, although the results have not been consistent. The satiety effect of MSG in overweight and obese adults has not been examined yet. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of MSG in a vegetable soup on subsequent energy intakes as well as food selection in overweight and obese adult women without eating disorders. A total of sixty-eight overweight and obese women (BMI range: 25·0-39·9 kg/m²), otherwise healthy, were recruited to our study. A fixed portion (200 ml) of control vegetable soup or the same soup with added MSG (0·5 g/100 ml) was provided 10 min before an ad libitum lunch and an ad libitum snack in the mid-afternoon. The control soup had equivalent amount of Na to the soup with added MSG. Energy intakes at the ad libitum lunch and ad libitum snack time after the soup preload were assessed using a randomised, double-blind, two-way cross-over design. The soup with MSG in comparison with the control soup resulted in significantly lower consumption of energy at lunch. The addition of MSG in the soup also reduced energy intake from high-fat savoury foods. The soup with MSG showed lower but no significant difference in energy intake at mid-afternoon. The addition of umami seasoning MSG in a vegetable soup may decrease subsequent energy intake in overweight and obese women who do not have eating disorders.