Religion and body weight

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:Relationships between religion and body weight were examined in a US national sample. METHODS: Data from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS), collected through telephone and postal questionnaires, were analyzed for 3032 adults aged 25-74. RESULTS: Religious denomination was significantly related to higher body weight in men after accounting for sociodemographic controls. Conservative Protestant men had a 1.1 7 0.45 higher body mass index (BMI) than those reporting no religious affiliation. Other religion variables that initially had significant relationships with greater body weight before adjusting for control variables became nonsignificant after smoking was controlled. No significant relationships between religion and body weight were present in women. CONCLUSIONS: Religious denomination was related to body weight in men. Other dimensions of religiosity showing a relationship with higher BMI appeared to be because of the lower rates of smoking among more religious individuals.

The association of religiosity with overweight/obese body mass index among Asian Indian immigrants in California

“…Asian Indian immigrants who were male, married, less educated, and had less favorable health status also had greater odds of being overweight/obese. Our findings are consistent with prior cross-sectional analyses involving diverse, non-Asian Indian populations (Cline and Ferraro, 2006;Feinstein et al, 2010;Ferraro, 1998;Gillum, 2006;Kim et al, 2003;Lapane et al, 1997).…”

“…One explanation is the low prevalence of cigarette smoking among religious individuals (Kim et al, 2003), who therefore fail to benefit from nicotine as an appetite suppressant. However, analysis of the CAITS data showed no association between smoking status and BMI, perhaps because smoking prevalence in this population was exceptionally low.…”

“…Religious participation has been positively associated with obesity in Whites, African Americans, Hispanics, and Chinese Americans (Feinstein et al, 2010;Feinstein et al, 2012;Gillum, 2006), though these association may be explained by sociodemographic and health status confounders (Feinstein et al, 2012;Gillum, 2006). Religiosity and greater body mass index have been found to vary among Christian subgroups as well (Cline and Ferraro, 2006;Ferraro, 1998;Kim et al, 2003;Lapane et al, 1997). These studies have not included Asian Indians or traditional Asian Indian religions.…”

Vanity vs. Gluttony: Competing Christian Discourses on Personal Health

“…Previous studies have established a link between obesity and general indicators of Christian religiosity such as Christian church attendance, affiliation with a Christian denomination, and the belief that Christianity is a salient aspect of one's everyday life (Ferraro, 1998;Kim et al, 2003). Yet, in the current study, Christians' discourse reflected a belief that Christian teachings can and should be linked with health behaviors (e.g., exercise) that could prevent or reduce obesity.…”

“…Given the need to address the positive relationship between religiosity and obesity among Christians in the US (Kim et al, 2003) and given the positive effects of exercise on weight maintenance and reduction (Slentz et al, 2004), this study seeks to understand Christians' perspectives on the relationship between their religious beliefs and their exercise attitudes within the broader context of the faithÁhealth relationship. Given the relationship between personal values and attitudes (Hullett & Boster, 2001;Katz, 1960) and the tensions that may be present in discourse about health beliefs and personal values (Baxter et al, 2004), the following research questions are posed:…”