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<H1>New Study Links Religion and Obesity</H1>March 26, 2011 06:45 PM EDT<BR>©
2011 by <A href="http://cseida.gather.com/">Caitlin Seida</A> <BR>
<DIV style="HEIGHT: 5px" class=spacer></DIV>1 <SPAN style="COLOR: #444">person
recommends this</SPAN> <STRONG>Tags:</STRONG> <A
href="http://www.gather.com/news">news</A>, <A
href="http://www.gather.com/religion+and+obesity">religion and obesity</A>, <A
href="http://www.gather.com/study">study</A>, <A
href="http://www.gather.com/health">health</A>, <A
href="http://www.gather.com/faith">faith</A>, <A
href="http://www.gather.com/fat">fat</A>, <A
href="http://www.gather.com/america">america</A>, <A
href="http://www.gather.com/matthew+feinstein">matthew feinstein</A>, <A
href="http://www.gather.com/few+extra+pounds">few extra pounds</A>, <A
href="http://www.gather.com/spiritual">spiritual</A> <BR>
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<P>Should attending church come with a warning from the Surgeon General? A
recent study conducted at Northwestern University thinks to seem so. The study,
which links religion and obesity, found that individuals who participated in at
least one organized religious activity per week were 50 percent more likely to
be obese than their secular counterparts.<BR><BR>Why is there a startling
correlation between spirituality and packing on a few extra pounds? <A
href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Diet/faith-fat-religious-youths-obese-mid-life/story?id=13204624&page=2">ABC
News</A> reports that the study's lead investigator, Matthew Feinstein, isn't
sure. Feinstein posits several theories to explain the results, including the
social atmosphere provided by church activities. Is it possible, though, that
the focus placed on the afterlife by religious figures is another factor? By
focusing on the hereafter and not the here and now, religious individuals may be
setting themselves up to visit the great treadmill in the sky sooner than they
should.<BR><BR><A
href="http://www.suntimes.com/4490719-417/religion-and-obesity-study-links-church-and-being-fat.html">The
Chicago Sun Times</A> reports that of the 2,000 plus individuals the study
followed, most of them were Christian. Would a wider study show different
results if it tracked the waistlines of those from other mainstream faiths, such
as Judaism, Islam and Buddhism? One can only speculate.<BR><BR>Despite the bad
news linking religion and obesity, the lead author of the study remains
optimistic. <A
href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42256829/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/">MSNBC</A>
mentions other studies in which those of faith were less likely to smoke, more
likely to live longer and less likely to suffer from mental health issues. Could
the same infrastructure that's leading to these benefits ultimately be
responsible for the increased poundage of America's faithful? When faced with
the choice of an unhealthy stress relieving activity that is forbidden by the
church (such as smoking) and an unhealthy stress reliving activity condoned or
even encouraged by the church (over eating), those of faith are surely more
likely to reach for a Twinkie than a Marlboro.</P></DIV><BR></DIV>
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<H2 style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 15px">Comments: 3 </H2>
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<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 8px"><A
href="http://chronologist.gather.com/">Franklin Newman</A><SPAN
class=med_gray> Mar 26, 2011, 7:20pm EDT</SPAN> </DIV>
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<DIV class=fullComment>I've often thought going to church was
hazardous to one's mental health. Now I have reason to believe
it's hazardous to one's physical health, too.
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<DIV>Wayne A. Fox<BR>1009 Karen Lane<BR>PO Box 9421<BR>Moscow, ID
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