An Association between Religious Observance and Later Obesity
Tue, April 5, 2011 at 02:00AM A report given at the American Heart Association Conference in Atlanta last week reported an association between attendance at religious services and the risk of obesity in later life. Researchers at Northwestern University, Chicago, presented the results of their study at the meeting. Previous studies have suggested that religious involvement is linked to better physical health, less depression and more happiness. But this study finds a detrimental association with weight gain.
Researchers followed people in a previous long-term study of 2,433 people aged 20 to 32 in the mid-1980s. Most of the participants were women, and 41% were African-Americans. After appropriate adjustments to account for different factors such as age, race, gender, education, income, and baseline BMI (body mass index) the researchers found that 32% of those who attended services the most became obese by middle age. On the other hand, only 22% of those who attended services the least – rarely or never - became obese (a BMI of 30 or more).
My readers know that this study doesn't prove that attending religious services is fattening. It’s an association that’s been shown, not evidence of cause-and-effect. But it’s hardly going to be possible to do a well-controlled, prospective comparison of religious service attendees and non-attendees. However, the finding is somewhat surprising, especially considering that religious people tend to be in better health than others. It may be easier to exclude confounding factors that might explain the association. For instance, passive listening and prayer vs. physical activity, or relatively unhealthy eating habits – traditional kosher food, or post-church cookouts, pot-luck suppers, and bake-sales.
One result of this study is that religion could become a small part of the solution to obesity. Dr. Sulmasy, a professor of medicine and ethics at the University of Chicago, has suggested "Pastors, especially those in poor neighborhoods, could champion programs for more fresh produce and less fast food in their neighborhoods”.
Reader Comments (1)
The results of the research are shocking, how it can be possible that the person who are religious and attend the programs are more prone to become obese, i cant believe this.