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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Karen Hye-cheon Kim, BS1, Jeffery Sobal, PhD, MPH1, and Elaine Wethington, PhD2. (1) Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, MVR Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, 607-254-6337, khk4@cornell.edu, (2) Human Development, Cornell University, MVR Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853
OBJECTIVES: Excess body weight is a major public health problem in the United States. Associated with morbidity and mortality, excess body weight is increasing in many populations around the world, thus the quest for understanding body weight is expanding to seek new predictors. This analysis will examine a social factor that has received little previous attention in relationship with body weight: Religion. METHODS: Data (3032 adults aged 25-74) from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) were analyzed. RESULTS: After accounting for all sociodemographic controls, religious denomination and religious identity were significantly related to higher body weight in men. Conservative Protestants had a 1.1 higher BMI than those reporting no religious affiliation, and those with higher levels of religious identity were heavier than those with lower levels (r=0.11). Other religion variables that showed significant effects on body weight before adjusting for control variables became non-significant after smoking was added to the model. No relationships were found between religion and body weight in women. CONCLUSIONS: Religious denomination and religious identity are positively related to body weight in men. Other dimensions of religiosity showing a positive relationship with BMI were due to the lower rates of smoking among the religious.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Religion, Nutrition
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.