Faithful People More Likely To Be Obese

Photo by Alina Zienowicz
So I’m checking out USA Today’s faith and reason, and they have an article up on obesity among people who regularly attend religious events. According to the article which can be found here:

Young adults who go to a religious event such as worship or Bible study at least once a week are 50 percent more likely to become obese by middle age as young adults with no religious involvement, according to new Northwestern Medicine research based on tracking 3,433 men and women for 18 years.

The researchers are not sure why this is, but it is certainly an interesting finding.

What About Adventists?

Turning the page, I would be interested in seeing some research on obesity in the Adventist church. I know Adventists live longer. I have seen some research, but really need to look more deeply into it. I wonder if we have done any research regarding obesity specifically and Adventism. It is a very interesting phenomenon.

You know just anecdotally, it really seems as though that vegetarianism and obesity can come together in Adventism. I mean if you see a fat vegetarian, I would bet you that one is an Adventist. I will admit that I have a small sample size, but I cannot remember meeting any fat vegetarians who were not Adventist.

What About The Health Message?

What does that mean? Is the health message really about health or just about not eating meat, pork, crab, shellfish, etc? I mean Adventists will tell you that they don’t eat whatever because it ain’t healthy, and then will go months without exercising. Isn’t that a disconnect? Going back to the original story, why are so many devout Christians fat? I guess the answer to that question will probably help us answer the question of Adventist obesity whether vegetarian or not.