Pediatrician says children can begin fast at age 7

A senior pediatrician said Thursday that a healthy child can begin fasting starting at the age of seven during Ramadan.
Rua bint Naser Al-Naser was answering queries from the public through the “Hello Ramadan” program conducted by the Ministry of Health.
“Fasting at this stage depends on the ability of each child. They should be asked to fast preferably at the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, so that the child will gradually get used to the fasting habit without complications of fatigue,” Al-Naser said, pointing out that the other children should fast according to the medical advice of their family doctors.
The pediatrician said the people should encourage the children to fast at an early stage. “They could be easily attracted by gifts and sweets as an incentive for them to fast,” she said. She advised parents to give them nutritious foods so that they stand the stress of fasting.
“They should be allowed to consume an adequate amount of fluid during the non-fasting period to avoid dehydration during the fasting time,” she said, adding that children should be given sahoor meal as late as possible so that they would go through a shorter period of fasting hours. “Parents should also keep a watch on fasting children for signs of fatigue, symptoms of sweat, fainting and face turning pale or yellow,” she cautioned.
She also said complaints from fasting children should not be ignored by the parents. “If necessary, they should be taken to doctors,” she advised.
For the ninth consecutive year, the Ministry of Health (MoH) is conducting its phone-in program, receiving people’s inquiries regarding the various health problems they encounter during the holy month of Ramadan.The program entitled “Your Health in Ramadan,” began on the first day of the holy month.
“It would help Muslims in the Kingdom clear their doubts regarding the medical problems they face specially during this month,” MoH spokesman Khalid Al-Mirghalani said.
The program, organized by the MoH’s Media Information and Health Awareness Center, is focused on the theme of ensuring Muslims maintain their health and a balanced lifestyle throughout Ramadan.
The spokesman said the program would focus on the importance of taking the prescribed doses of medication during the month and provide medical tips and consultations.
The service is available on toll free number 8002494444. It is being operated in Arabic and is open to the public from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on week days.
“We have arranged for a number of specialist doctors in various fields to answer viewers’ questions from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on all week days during the month,” he said, adding that the physicians would also interact with the public through social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
“We assure all callers strict confidentiality of the information provided during their telephone inquiries, he said, adding that men suffering from chronic ailments such as diabetes and hypertension are free to ask questions about their dose of medicines and how they should take their insulin during the holy month, while women could inquire about matters related to their health and their children’s.
Besides this program, the spokesman said the ministry would continue with its health education program through television and radio channels.
“The whole idea of the program is to balance one’s lifestyle during Ramadan, to consume the right portions of food and intake of medication,” he said, pointing out that overeating during the holy month results in obesity and stressed that the timings of the medicines to be taken during the non-fasting hours, should be according to medical advice.
The ministry has been carrying out a similar program to apprise the people of the eating habits to be followed to beat the heat during the summer holiday season. “Now we will continue the program with a focus on Ramadan,” Mirghalani said.