Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

Okay ABC News, you got my attention.

A recent news story, based on a recent study from Northwestern University postulates that “those who regularly attend church are 50% fatter than those who don’t.” (ABC News). 
Is this story offer another justification for people to stay away from church?

Digging deeper, I found a press release issued by Northwestern University: 

“We don’t know why frequent religious participation is associated with development of obesity, but the upshot is these findings highlight a group that could benefit from targeted efforts at obesity prevention,” said Matthew Feinstein, the study’s lead investigator and a fourth-year student at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. ”It’s possible that getting together once a week and associating good works and happiness with eating unhealthy foods could lead to the development of habits that are associated with greater body weight and obesity.”

The study, which tracked 2,433 men and women for 18 years, found normal weight young adults ages 20 to 32 years with a high frequency of religious participation were 50 percent more likely to be obese by middle age after adjusting for differences in age, race, sex, education, income and baseline body mass index. High frequency of religious participation was defined as attending a religious function at least once a week.

Obesity is defined as having a body mass index of 30 or higher. A woman who is 5’5 and 180 pounds has a BMI of 30, for example.

Senior study author Donald Lloyd-Jones, MD, chair of preventative medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine expressed, “Obesity is the major epidemic that is facing the U.S. population right now. We know that people with obesity have substantial risks for developing diabetes, heart disease, and certain types of cancer, and of dying much younger.
“So, we need to use all of the tools at our disposal to identify groups at risk and to provide education and support to prevent the development of obesity in the first place,” Lloyd-Jones added. 

Cautioning that their findings did not mean frequent religious involvement made people more obese or that the religious had overall worse health statuses compared to the non-religious, the authors highlighted that previous studies have also shown that religious people tend to live longer because they tended to smoke less.

Is there an opportunity here for faith groups?

Feinstein says yes. “Here’s an opportunity for religious organizations to initiate programs to help their congregations live even longer. The organizations already have groups of people getting together and infrastructures in place that could be leveraged to initiate programs that prevent people from becoming obese and treat existing obesity.”

Northwestern is working with a church on Chicago’s West Side. Members are taught how dietary changes and increased physical activity can lower cardiovascular disease risk factors such as obesity, cholesterol, and high blood pressure. “Church-based interventions have shown promising results,” he said.

What do you think about this study? Is your congregation working to address issues related to your congregation’s and your community’s health? Do you have success stories to share with others interested in starting this work? Readers are invited to share your stories with others in the Your Turn section of this site.