A literature review of food culture and eating behaviours among Mauritian Muslims during the fasting month of Ramadan: The need for nutrition education.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and is also recognised as Ramadhan or Ramzan. During this holy month, Muslims around the globe are devoted to the almighty by focusing on fasting, praying and giving charity to the poorer amongst all. Fasting being one of the five pillars of Islam, is regarded as an obligatory deed for all able-bodied accountable Muslims. During Ramadan, this category of individuals spends daylight hours observing a complete fast by abstaining from all foods, drinks, medications as well as smoking. In Mauritius, the duration of fasting will vary according to the season coinciding with Ramadan and ranges from 13 to 15 hours. In general, food intake is reduced during Ramadan. Normally, this should lead to reduced energy intake and weight loss depending on the food consumption pattern of the fasting individual. Nonetheless, eating behaviours are different during the period of Ramadan and may be accounted for the fact that following the daily fasting period, certain individuals feel indulged to consume specific types of foods and drinks at breakfast (iftaar). In Mauritius, it has long been a well anchored culture to have fried cakes and milk beverages besides the recommended dates at ‘iftaar’. It is however alarming to observe that there is a large tendency to replace dinner with the ‘iftaar. . The review focuses on the pattern of food consumption and feast during the period of Ramadan in Mauritius and aims to justify the need for nutrition education to improve food intake