Baptists most likely to be obese Christians, study finds

On the way to the church picnic, some Christians may not be sidestepping one of the seven deadly sins: gluttony.
A new study surmises that among Christians in the United States — particularly Baptists, Pentecostals and Catholics — there is a significant relationship between being religious and being obese.

The study tracked about 2,800 religious Americans of various denominations for eight years.

Baptists were most likely to be obese, followed by Pentecostals, Catholics, Methodists and members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Denominations that stress physical health, such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Seventh-Day Adventists, showed low levels of obesity. There is also a low percentage of obese Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists in the United States, the study found.

Because religion is often associated with positive health factors, the results of the study were somewhat surprising, said Purdue University sociology professor Kenneth F. Ferraro, a leader of the research.

“We usually think of religion as contrasting negative behaviors,” Ferraro said. But “Baptists, as well as most fundamentalist groups, place great emphasis on separating the mind or soul from the body,” which may lead to over-eating.

The study found a significant correlation between obesity and people who use religious media, such as television, radio and magazines.

These “couch potato saints,” as the study calls them, tend to be less active and often watch “lots of obese religious leaders on TV,” according to Ferraro. (RNS)