Context: Religious fasting has a variable metabolic impact health. Studies on Orthodox Christian fasting in diabetic patients are very scarce,
and studies on health effects of Christian fasting in Egypt are lacking. Objective: The objective of the study is to evaluate the effect of fasting
among Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Christians with and without Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Settings and Design: A prospective study was
conducted in Sohag San George Church and involved 49 Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Christians with Type 2 DM and 48 non‑diabetic persons
during the period of Great Lent 2013. Subjects and Methods: Both diabetic and non‑diabetic groups were subjected to clinical evaluation,
anthropometric measurements and laboratory investigations before and after fasting. Statistical Analysis Used: Statistical analysis was
conducted using SPSS (11.0) for Windows and P < 0.05 considered as statistically significant. Results: Among the diabetic group, there was
a significant reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure after fasting with P = 0.0001 and 0.047, respectively. Body mass index (BMI)
and waist circumference were reduced significantly after fasting with P = 0.0005 and 0.001, respectively. Significant reduction in glycosylated
haemoglobin after fasting was also detected. No significant change lipid profile was detected. Among non‑diabetic group, significant decrease
in BMI, waist circumference and high‑density lipoprotein level was detected after fasting. There were no significant changes in blood pressure,
triglycerides, cholesterol and low‑density lipoprotein levels. Conclusion: Fasting among Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Christians has positive
impacts on health among patients with Type 2 DM. It also showed some beneficial effects among fasting non‑diabetic individuals.