Effects of Fasting on Self Efficacy

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The study aims to investigate if a 7 day therapeutic fasting regimen will affect self-efficacy of patients with chronic diseases the effects of fasting on physical and mental well-being, quality of life and body awareness/image the association between patients characteristics and the perceived health benefit after fasting the association between Diagnosis according to traditional Chinese medicine and physical and mental well-being during the course of fasting experiences and perceptions of patients during fasting therapy

Detailed Description
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see above

Official Title
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The Effects of Therapeutic Fasting on Self Efficacy Measures - a Prospective Observational Trial

Conditions
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Chronic Pain, Fibromyalgia, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Gout, Headache, Arthritis, Gastrointestinal Diseases, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Cardiovascular Diseases

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Fasting


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: 18 years or older eligible for fasting, i.e. normal weight (no anorexia, no nutritional deficiency, no BMI<18 or >35, no eating disorder) Exclusion Criteria: psychiatric disorder type 1 diabetes hepatitis severe somatic disorder (oncological disease, hepatological or nephrological) pregnancy

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Fasting<br>Patients being admitted to an internal integrative medicine hospital and referred to therapeutic fasting therapy | Behavioral: Fasting<br>* Fasting therapy was adapted from Buchinger, including a fasting period of 7 days. After 2 prefasting days with 800kcal per day from vegetables and rice/potatoes, fasting starts with the ingestion of an oral laxative. During fasting patients receive small quantities of juice and herbal teas, and a vegetable broth for lunch, altogether no more than 350kcal per day. At the end, fasting is broken by an apple or cooked potato, and for the following 3 days nutrition returns to normocaloric diet.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Self efficacy questionnaire | Self efficacy questionnaire (SWE) by Schwarzer and Jerusalem, 1999 | up to 6 months | 
| Bodily self-efficacy | Bodily self-efficacy (Schützler and Witt, 2013) | up to 6 months | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ability and will to change | Ability and will to change (Büssing, 2008) | 2 weeks, 6 months | 
| Easiness of life | Questionnaire on emotional and physical reactions | 2 weeks, 6 months | 
| Health-related quality of life | Short Form (36) Health Survey | 2 weeks, 6 months | 
| Body responsiveness | Body Responsiveness Scale (BRS)(Daubenmier 2005) | 2 weeks, 6 months | 
| Body awareness and dissociation | Scale of Body Connection (SBC) (Price and Thompson 2007) | 2 weeks, 6 months | 
| Body Awareness | Body Awareness Questionnaire (BAQ) (Shields 1989) | 2 weeks, 6 months | 
| Symptoms | MYMOP questionnaire (Paterson) | 2 weeks, 6 months | 
| Depression | Becks Depression Inventory (BDI) | 2 weeks, 6 months | 
| Safety | Any adverse effect during the study period | 2 weeks |