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The Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine just released a study which tracked 2433 young adults for 18 years and discovered that there is a correlation between religion and obesity. In fact, it is more than just a correlation:

“By tracking participants’ weight gain over time, the new study makes it clear that normal-weight younger adults with high religious involvement became obese, rather than obese adults becoming more religious.”

According to the study, young adults who attend religious functions at least once a week are 50% more likely to become obese by the time they reach middle-age than non-religious Americans.

This study confirms what atheist blogger, Tim Covell (BornAtheist.com) observed when he compared CalorieLab’s “fattest state statistics” with the American Religious Identification Survey information. The top ten fattest states correlate to the top ten most religious states. The correlation isn’t exact, except for the top two spots. Mississippi is both the fattest and most religious state in the nation with Alabama in the number two spot for both rankings. Pennsylvania is the 17th fattest state according to CalorieLab.

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ROFLMAO

OOOOOmg!

this is the funniest thing i've read in a while.

some of the thing you post can have interesting points. this just reeks of desperation.

Jesus makes you fat?

 

...And the Lord said, " Giveth unto me a break."

kids are fat because they're allowed to sit infront of the Xbox and gather dust. The only thing God has to do with it is the invention of opposable thumbs.

Here ya go.... the upside is - i put just as much faith in the drivel you posted as i do the drivel i am posting here.  in otherwords - Nada.

 

According to the Gallup Organization, "Very religious Americans are more likely to practice healthy behaviors than those who are moderately religious or nonreligious."[3]

Gallup  declared concerning the study which measured the degree to which religiosity affects health practices: "Generalized linear model analysis was used to estimate marginal scores all five reported metrics after controlling for age (in years), gender, race/ethnicity, marital status, education (number of years), log of income, and region of the country... Results are based on telephone interviews conducted as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index survey Jan. 2-July 28, 2010, with a random sample of 554,066 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, selected using random-digit-dial sampling."[4]

The Gallup study gives some insight into the above average health habits of the very religious and not necessarily the health habits of atheists.  The reason is that the Gallup organization defines a non-religious as a person where "Religion is not an important part of daily life and church/synagogue/mosque attendance occurs seldom or never. This group constitutes 29.7% of the adult population."[5] While many Western atheists are non-religious, not all non-religious people are atheists.

Gallup further declares:

Very religious Americans make healthier choices than their moderately religious and nonreligious counterparts across all four of the Healthy Behavior Index metrics, including smoking, healthy eating, and regular exercise. Smoking is one area of particular differentiation between the very religious and less religious Americans, with the nonreligious 85% more likely to be smokers than those who are very religious.[6]

From a medical perspective, an obese person has accumulated enough body fat that it can have a negative effect on their health. If a person's weight is at least 20% higher than it should be, he/she is generally considered obese. If your Body Mass Index (BMI) is between 25 and 29.9 you are considered overweight. If your BMI is 30 or over you are considered obese.[7]  The term obese can also used in a more general way to indicate someone who is overweight.[8]

Two of the major risk factors for becoming obese according to the Mayo Clinic are poor dietary choices and inactivity, thus given the above cited Gallup research, it appears as if non-religious are more prone to becoming obese than very religious individuals.[9] The Bible declares that gluttony is a sin.[10] Furthermore, the Bible declares the physical body of Christians to be temples of the Holy Spirit.[11] Another example of strongly held religious beliefs affecting behavior in terms of the avoidance of sins and health problems is that religious upbringing and culture affects rates of homosexuality and there are a number of diseases which homosexuals have higher incidences of.  For example, homosexuality is rare among Orthodox Jews and even the liberal researcher Alfred Kinsey noted the rarity of homosexuality within the Orthodox Jewish community.[12] Therefore, it is not surprising that many very religious Christians and other religious groups which incorporate healthy beliefs and practices within their religion would leave healthier lives.

Obesity is positively associated with impulsiveness, lower self-discipline and neuroticism.[13][14][15] In addition, many people overeat in response to negative emotions such as depression, anger, anxiety and boredom.[16][17][18]

 

Concerning atheism and mental and physical health, there is considerable amount of scientific evidence that suggest that theism is more conducive to mental and physical health than atheism (For more information, please see: Psychology, obesity, religiosity and atheism). In the journal article Religion, self-regulation, and self-control: Associations, explanations, and implications psychologists McCullough and Willoughby theorize that many of the positive links of religiousness with health and social behavior may be caused by religion's beneficial influences on self-control/self-regulation.[22][23]

Christianity is the world's largest religion and it has seen tremendous growth over its 2000 year history.[24] In the last fifty years, Christianity has recently seen explosive growth outside the Western World.[25][26][27][28] In 2000, there were twice as many non-Western Christians as Western Christians.[29]  In 2005, there were four times as many non-Western Christians as there were Western Christians.[30] Of course, a big reason for the explosive growth of Christianity outside the Western world was due to highly religious people propagating the Christian faith and there are now more non-Western missionaries than Western missionaries.[31]  Besides non-Westerners often being less sedentary, non-Western diets are often healthier than the diets Westerners consume and there is significantly less obesity in those non-Western cultures.[32][33][34]  Therefore, in recent history Christendom has seen a large influx of very religious people who live healthy lifestyles and have low levels of obesity.

 

 

See? just like yours..... total horsemuffins.

 

I also found one that links atheism to cancer.... but that  was so stupid i couldn't even go there.

Originally Posted by The Nagel:

Here ya go.... the upside is - i put just as much faith in the drivel you posted as i do the drivel i am posting here.  in otherwords - Nada.

 

 

the original study is here and from a school of medicine.  so, tell us, nagle, which study is "correct"?  how do you tell?

 

http://www.feinberg.northweste...eligion_Obesity.html

 

they even give a nod to your Gallup poll by saying, "The authors caution that their findings should only be taken to mean people with frequent religious involvement are more likely to become obese, and not that they have worse overall health status than those who are non-religious. In fact, previous studies have shown religious people tend to live longer than those who aren’t religious in part because they tend to smoke less."

 

nagle, do you disagree with the premise that. overall, the "fattest" states tend to be the most religious?  

 

all that said, correlation does not equal causation.  there are many factors that go into obesity. what this study does show is that if you want to tackle the problem of obesity with education programs, a church is a very good place to start. 

 

.... hold up a sec.  your article states, "Two of the major risk factors for becoming obese according to the Mayo Clinic are poor dietary choices and inactivity, thus given the above cited Gallup research, it appears as if non-religious are more prone to becoming obese than very religious individuals.[9] The Bible declares that gluttony is a sin.[10]Furthermore, the Bible declares the physical body of Christians to be temples of the Holy Spirit."

 so where in hell did you get this article?  a legitimate research article would never include such language.  it appears that this study might (MIGHT) be polluted by propagandists.  let's see the souce, nagle?

OK nagle, i call BS on your BS.
the ORIGINAL Gallup story is here: http://www.gallup.com/poll/144...igher-Wellbeing.aspx
you knwo what?  they dont' say a dang thing about overweight.  the study covered "well being" and overall behaviours.  the main stutistics are on the link i provided.  they actually show a very slight favor for overall well being of theists compared to non-theists.  very slight.  out of 550,000 people, the difference was measures in 2 to 3 points.
it also didn't cover "atheists,"  it covered the non-religious.  there was another study done recently that show that people who were self-avoewd atheists (not jsut "non religious") tended to be just as "happy" as their theist counterparts.

the study i posted coveres obesity only and doesn't address overall well-being.
so, i don't know where you got your article but it was peppered with propaganda from fundamentalists.  think critically, nagle. it saves you from looking like a bafoon. 
Originally Posted by Unobtanium:
Originally Posted by The Nagel:

Here ya go.... the upside is - i put just as much faith in the drivel you posted as i do the drivel i am posting here.  in otherwords - Nada.

 

 

the original study is here and from a school of medicine.  so, tell us, nagle, which study is "correct"?  how do you tell?

 

http://www.feinberg.northweste...eligion_Obesity.html

 

they even give a nod to your Gallup poll by saying, "The authors caution that their findings should only be taken to mean people with frequent religious involvement are more likely to become obese, and not that they have worse overall health status than those who are non-religious. In fact, previous studies have shown religious people tend to live longer than those who aren’t religious in part because they tend to smoke less."

 

nagle, do you disagree with the premise that. overall, the "fattest" states tend to be the most religious?  

 

all that said, correlation does not equal causation.  there are many factors that go into obesity. what this study does show is that if you want to tackle the problem of obesity with education programs, a church is a very good place to start. 

 

.... hold up a sec.  your article states, "Two of the major risk factors for becoming obese according to the Mayo Clinic are poor dietary choices and inactivity, thus given the above cited Gallup research, it appears as if non-religious are more prone to becoming obese than very religious individuals.[9] The Bible declares that gluttony is a sin.[10]Furthermore, the Bible declares the physical body of Christians to be temples of the Holy Spirit."

 so where in hell did you get this article?  a legitimate research article would never include such language.  it appears that this study might (MIGHT) be polluted by propagandists.  let's see the souce, nagle?

 

i used a method that is just as soundly scientific as the article you opened with. i typed ' atheism causes" into google and i picked one, which is what you seem to be doing lately with religion.

you once said you aren't interested in converting anyone, yet you incessently post the most stupendous Kaka, like this newest one, useing every possible chance to bash, slander and malign the whole concept of faith.

NSNS likes to pick particular points and debate their validity. you just run around in the street flapping and squawking like a Anti-Faith Scarecrow.

this has to be one of the stupidest topic threads anyone has ever started in this forum. i fought stupid with stupid., because it didn't merit any acctual consideration.

 

Jesus makes people fat. Man, you need to get a life and not obcess and get angsty over what other people believe so much.

 

what's next? the holy ghost is the root source of cellulite?


 

Originally Posted by The Nagel:

you once said you aren't interested in converting anyone, yet you incessently post the most stupendous Kaka, like this newest one, 

 

Nagel, i've never said i was not interested in converting anyone.  i most certainly am.  i would love nothing more than for people to suddenly start thinking critically about all things, including, no ESPECIALLY religion.  you are a good example of that.  you think critically about many religious topics but stop just short of denouncing it all as BS.  cool by me.  your kind of belief system causes no harm.  you're in m camp as far as i'm concerned. but you clearly haven't thought it all they way through.

 

back to the point, where you fail miserably is picking at this study from a fairly respected medical school and simply calling BS on it based on some article you found somewhere that was written (or at least tampered with) by a fundamentalist nut job.   your counterpoint, if you bothered to look at the source, didn't actually say anything that contradicted my original post but, yes, you will actually have to read the whole thing to grasp that.  

 

critical thinking, nagle: it's important.  i thank you for questioning my post. you made me look into this further and i learned something from it.

 
 
 
 
 
Originally Posted by Unobtanium:
Originally Posted by The Nagel:

you once said you aren't interested in converting anyone, yet you incessently post the most stupendous Kaka, like this newest one, 

 

Nagel, i've never said i was not interested in converting anyone.  i most certainly am.  i would love nothing more than for people to suddenly start thinking critically about all things, including, no ESPECIALLY

 

allow me to take us back.....(insert special flashback effects here)

quote:
Originally posted by O No!:
Nagel, there is some good that comes out of these forums. When you teach, you learn. And when you try to explain your thoughts, they become clearer in your own mind.

When I try to explain my FAITH, that faith becomes stronger. Smiler
What she said... except thefsith part. Wink

With all due respect dan: bite me. Im not here to convert anyone. Im here for me.
 
 

 (/special effects)

 

religion.  you are a good example of that.  you think critically about many religious topics but stop just short of denouncing it all as BS.  cool by me.  your kind of belief system causes no harm.  you're in m camp as far as i'm concerned. but you clearly haven't thought it all they way through.

 

i haven't announced it as BS because i CAN'T. there isn't enough proof for me to do so.

 

 

back to the point, where you fail miserably is picking at this study from a fairly respected medical school and simply calling BS on it based on some article you found somewhere that was written (or at least tampered with) by a fundamentalist nut job.   your counterpoint, if you bothered to look at the source, didn't actually say anything that contradicted my original post but, yes, you will actually have to read the whole thing to grasp that.  

 

critical thinking, nagle: it's important.  i thank you for questioning my post. you made me look into this further and i learned something from it.

i tried for about 30 seconds too think critically about this topic, but just kept getting the giggles.

not only did i not bother to look at the source... i didn't even read it.

the only point i wanted to make was that the whole thing is silly.

 

inactivity and overeating and/or poor diet choices makes people fat.

what they believe in, or don't believe in, isn't a relevent factor.


if the format of this post looks as bad as i expect it to, please bare with me while i try and fix it - i haven't messed with formatting here - just been doing straight replies.

HAHA!

 

Nagel: "Giveth unto me a break"

 

 

You can link anything to anything else in a study if you try hard enough.

 

Take the link between crime and poverty, for example:

 

You spend all day looking for stuff to break, steal, disfigure and burn, then you spend all night looking for people to beat, rob, r*a*p*e, and k*i*l*l, you don't have time to work. Now you're poor.

 

There's the link.

 

'S easy.

i evidently said at one point: "With all due respect dan: bite me. Im not here to convert anyone. Im here for me."

 

then i told nagle i wasn't out to convert anyone.

 

ok, you got me on that one.  but it's taken a bit out of context but to explain it would be less than useless.  yes, i am here for good debate and not necessairily to convert anyone.  that is true.

 

but i would love it if i were to convert someone to reality.  i know, the religionists here have a difficult enough time with complex ideas so i won't bother to try to explain how both of those statements can be true.

Originally Posted by Unobtanium:

i evidently said at one point: "With all due respect dan: bite me. Im not here to convert anyone. Im here for me."

 

then i told nagle i wasn't out to convert anyone.

 

ok, you got me on that one.  but it's taken a bit out of context but to explain it would be less than useless.  yes, i am here for good debate and not necessairily to convert anyone.  that is true.

 

but i would love it if i were to convert someone to reality.  i know, the religionists here have a difficult enough time with complex ideas so i won't bother to try to explain how both of those statements can be true.

/bow

fair enough - it was taken a touch out of context, but it was a matter of statement against statement, not a matter of topic so the acctual context didn't really apply.


it's not that hard to grasp - even for 'religionists'. ( is that a word? it should be. it's a good blanket word, covereing anyone who has faith in a higher power, withought having to type stupid phrases like ' faith in a higher power'.)

 

 "i know, the religionists here have a difficult enough time with complex ideas so i won't bother to try to explain how both of those statements can be true."

 

You know, with all of the multiple screen names flaoting around here, I'm beginning to think Unob is actually Bill - someone he made up to balance the way HE makes Christians look bad!

Originally Posted by O No!:

 "i know, the religionists here have a difficult enough time with complex ideas so i won't bother to try to explain how both of those statements can be true."

 

You know, with all of the multiple screen names flaoting around here, I'm beginning to think Unob is actually Bill - someone he made up to balance the way HE makes Christians look bad!

yep Ono you got it right.

Angry Atheist

Yes, that was it. Thanks blue. I could not remember. He left and I wish he would come back and tell how he is doing.

Originally Posted by bluetick:

Was it Sofaking

 

Originally Posted by The Nagel:
Originally Posted by b50m:

I know some one left last year after they were converted to being atheist. What was his name?  I can't remember.


Nor I, but i rememebr he was a nice guy and i was sorry to see him go.

Originally Posted by Deep.Fat:
Originally Posted by O No!:

 "i know, the religionists here have a difficult enough time with complex ideas so i won't bother to try to explain how both of those statements can be true."

 

You know, with all of the multiple screen names flaoting around here, I'm beginning to think Unob is actually Bill - someone he made up to balance the way HE makes Christians look bad!

yep Ono you got it right.

Angry Atheist

Well if obesity really IS linked to religion-Then 9/10ths of Petersville is going STRAIGHT to heaven. No stop signs.

 

Originally Posted by Road Puppy:
Originally Posted by Deep.Fat:
Originally Posted by O No!:

 "i know, the religionists here have a difficult enough time with complex ideas so i won't bother to try to explain how both of those statements can be true."

 

You know, with all of the multiple screen names flaoting around here, I'm beginning to think Unob is actually Bill - someone he made up to balance the way HE makes Christians look bad!

yep Ono you got it right.

Angry Atheist

Well if obesity really IS linked to religion-Then 9/10ths of Petersville is going STRAIGHT to heaven. No stop signs.

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah...and steer clear of Wal Mart!!! That will be the Super Bowl for the "rapture"!

Originally Posted by CageTheElephant:
Originally Posted by Road Puppy:
Originally Posted by Deep.Fat:
Originally Posted by O No!:

 "i know, the religionists here have a difficult enough time with complex ideas so i won't bother to try to explain how both of those statements can be true."

 

You know, with all of the multiple screen names flaoting around here, I'm beginning to think Unob is actually Bill - someone he made up to balance the way HE makes Christians look bad!

yep Ono you got it right.

Well if obesity really IS linked to religion-Then 9/10ths of Petersville is going STRAIGHT to heaven. No stop signs.

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah...and steer clear of Wal Mart!!! That will be the Super Bowl for the "rapture"!

Yahmon! Amen, brudda.

Originally Posted by Road Puppy:
Originally Posted by Deep.Fat:
Originally Posted by O No!:

 "i know, the religionists here have a difficult enough time with complex ideas so i won't bother to try to explain how both of those statements can be true."

 

You know, with all of the multiple screen names flaoting around here, I'm beginning to think Unob is actually Bill - someone he made up to balance the way HE makes Christians look bad!

yep Ono you got it right.

Angry Atheist

Well if obesity really IS linked to religion-Then 9/10ths of Petersville is going STRAIGHT to heaven. No stop signs.

 

You speak truth paleface.

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