the effects of ramadan fasting and physical activity on body composition and hematological biochemical parameters

introduction: hunger and reduction in regular energy intake can lead to a number of problems based on their intensity. for instance, low energy level can cause blood cell production to decline or it may pose a higher risk of anemia. it can also weaken the immune system and platelet aggregation or negatively affect clot formation. this study aimed to have a closer look at fasting and regular physical activity and their impacts on body composition and blood hematological-biochemical parameters among professional wrestlers. method: in this semi-experimental study, 9 subjects were selected by convenience sampling. the selected training program included participation in this exerciseprogram, 90 min per session, 6 times per week for a period of one month. blood samples were obtained four times: before the start of ramadan, 2 weeks after the start, during the last week and 2 weeks after the end of ramadan. to make intra-group comparison, repeated measure analysis of variance was used. for all statistical comparisons, the level of significance was considered at presults: body weight and red blood cell count (rbc) dropped significantly at the end of ramadan (respectively p= 0.001 and p=0.034). however, the number of white blood cells (wbc) and circulating platelets (plt) significantly increased during fasting (respectively p= 0.048 and p=0.042). as a matter of fact, plt and wbc were the only factors which dramatically increased during fasting. intra-group variations of tetracycline (tc), low-density lipoprotein (ldl), ldl: high-density lipoprotein (hdl), triglyceride (tg): hdl and tc: hdl reduced at the end of ramadan. however, hdl levels ​​drastically increased during fasting (p≤0.05). conclusion: based on the results of the research, despite being a regular activity and fasting has beneficial effects on lipid profile in athletes, however, they can with tangible changes in hematological factors may lead to weaken the immune system of athletes.