Religion and body weight
Abstract
Objectives Relationships between religion and body weight were examined in a US national sample.Methods Data from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS), collected through telephone and postal questionnaires, were analyzed for 3032 adults aged 25-74.Results Religious denomination was significantly related to higher body weight in men after accounting for sociodemographic controls. Conservative Protestant men had a 1.1 +/- 0.45 higher body mass index (BMI) than those reporting no religious affiliation. Other religion variables that initially had significant relationships with greater body weight before adjusting for control variables became nonsignificant after smoking was controlled. No significant relationships between religion and body weight were present in women.Conclusions Religious denomination was related to body weight in men. Other dimensions of religiosity showing a relationship with higher BMI appeared to be because of the lower rates of smoking among more religious individuals.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Of the nine best cholesterol studies, five (56%) reported lower cholesterol or a lowering of cholesterol in response to an R/S intervention, whereas one found higher cholesterol but only in Mexican American men.
“Of the nine best studies, five (56%) reported lower cholesterol [311–313] or a lowering of cholesterol in response to a R/S intervention [314, 315], whereas one found higher cholesterol (but only in Mexican American men) [316].”
From Religion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinical Implications (2012) · cites this paper as [314]
Cites
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.51.6.1173 · Cited by 91,542 · see citing works
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173 · Cited by 91,532 · see citing works
Obesity : Preventing and managing the global epidemic
Akram, D. S., Astrup, A. V., Atinmo, T., Boissin, J.-L., Bray, G. A., Carroll, K. N., Chitson, P., Chen, C., Dietz, W. H., Hill, J. O., et al. (2000) · Research at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) · Cited by 12,945 · see citing works
The Continuing Epidemics of Obesity and Diabetes in the United States
Mokdad, A. H. (2001) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.286.10.1195 · Cited by 2,730 · see citing works
Socioeconomic Status and Obesity: A Review of the Literature
Sobal, J., & Stunkard, A. J. (1989) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.105.2.260 · Cited by 2,346 · see citing works
Self-citationThe Measure of American Religion: Toward Improving the State of the Art
Steensland, B., Robinson, L. D., Wilcox, W. B., Park, J. Z., Regnerus, M., & Woodberry, R. D. (2000) · Social Forces · doi:10.1093/sf/79.1.291 · Cited by 1,825 · see citing works
The sense of control as a moderator of social class differences in health and well-being.
Lachman, M. E., & Weaver, S. L. (1998) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.74.3.763 · Cited by 1,674 · see citing works
Holy Feast and Holy Fast: The Religious Significance of Food to Medieval Women
Brown, J. C., & Bynum, C. W. (1989) · The American Historical Review · doi:10.2307/1873794 · Cited by 1,466 · see citing works
The Religion-Health Connection: Evidence, Theory, and Future Directions
Ellison, C. G., & Levin, J. S. (1998) · Health Education & Behavior · doi:10.1177/109019819802500603 · Cited by 1,460 · see citing works
Religious involvement and mortality: A meta-analytic review.
McCullough, M. E., Hoyt, W. T., Larson, D. B., Koenig, H. G., & Thoresen, C. E. (2000) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/0278-6133.19.3.211 · Cited by 1,088 · see citing works
Epel, E., Lapidus, R., McEwen, B., & Brownell, K. (2001) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/s0306-4530(00)00035-4 · Cited by 1,060 · see citing works
The Obesity Epidemic Is a Worldwide Phenomenon
Popkin, B. M., & Doak, C. M. (2009) · Nutrition Reviews · doi:10.1111/j.1753-4887.1998.tb01722.x · Cited by 859 · see citing works
Religious involvement and U.S. adult mortality
Hummer, R. A., Rogers, R. G., Nam, C. B., & Ellison, C. G. (1999) · Demography · doi:10.2307/2648114 · Cited by 825 · see citing works
Frequent attendance at religious services and mortality over 28 years.
Strawbridge, W. J., Cohen, R. D., Shema, S. J., & Kaplan, G. A. (1997) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.87.6.957 · Cited by 686 · see citing works
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND CURRENT CONTROVERSIES IN THE SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION
Sherkat, D. E., & Ellison, C. G. (1999) · Annual Review of Sociology · doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.25.1.363 · Cited by 677 · see citing works
The accuracy of self-reported weights
Stunkard, A. J., & Albaum, J. (1981) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/34.8.1593 · Cited by 624 · see citing works
Assessment of physical activity in epidemiologic research: problems and prospects.
LaPorte, R. E., Montoye, H. J., & Caspersen, C. J. (1985) · Europe PMC (PubMed Central) · Cited by 587 · see citing works
Validity of self-reported alcohol use: a literature review and assessment.
Midanik, L. (1988) · British Journal of Addiction · doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.1988.tb00526.x · Cited by 539 · see citing works
Doll, H., Petersen, S., & Stewart-Brown, S. L. (2000) · Obesity Research · doi:10.1038/oby.2000.17 · Cited by 513 · see citing works
The reliability and validity of self-reported weight and height
Stewart, A. L. (1982) · Journal of Chronic Diseases · doi:10.1016/0021-9681(82)90085-6 · Cited by 483 · see citing works
Troiano, R. P., Frongillo, E. A., Sobal, J., & Levitsky, D. A. (1996) · PubMed · Cited by 472 · see citing works
Self-citationClassifying Protestant Denominations
Smith, T. (1990) · Review of Religious Research · doi:10.2307/3511614 · Cited by 472 · see citing works
Parental neglect during childhood and increased risk of obesity in young adulthood
Lissau, I., Sørensen, T. I. A., & Lissau, I. (1994) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(94)91163-0 · Cited by 449 · see citing works
Epel, E. S., McEwen, B. S., Seeman, T. E., Matthews, K. A., Castellazzo, G., Brownell, K. D., Bell, J., & Ickovics, J. R. (2000) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/00006842-200009000-00005 · Cited by 434 · see citing works
Religion's Role in Promoting Health and Reducing Risk Among American Youth
Wallace, J. M., & Forman, T. A. (1998) · Health Education & Behavior · doi:10.1177/109019819802500604 · Cited by 434 · see citing works
Goldblatt, P. B. (1965) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.1965.03080250017004 · Cited by 426 · see citing works
Waldron, I., Hughes, M. E., & Brooks, T. L. (1996) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/0277-9536(95)00347-9 · Cited by 404 · see citing works
Wing, R. R. (1999) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1097/00005768-199911001-00010 · Cited by 404 · see citing works
Obesity and its comorbid conditions
Khaodhiar, L., McCowen, K. C., & Blackburn, G. L. (1999) · Clinical cornerstone · doi:10.1016/s1098-3597(99)90002-9 · Cited by 403 · see citing works
Stress-Related Eating and Drinking Behavior and Body Mass Index and Predictors of This Behavior
Laitinen, J. H., Ek, E., & Sovio, U. (2002) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1006/pmed.2001.0948 · Cited by 390 · see citing works
Gender Differences in Religion: A Test of the Structural Location Theory
de Vaus, D., & McAllister, I. (1987) · American Sociological Review · doi:10.2307/2095292 · Cited by 328 · see citing works
Koenig, H. G., Hays, J. C., George, L. K., Blazer, D. G., Larson, D. B., & Landerman, L. R. (1997) · PubMed · Cited by 279 · see citing works
Compensating for missing survey data
Kalton, G. (1982) · Deep Blue (University of Michigan) · Cited by 237 · see citing works
Koenig, H. G., Hays, J. C., George, L. K., Blazer, D. G., Larson, D. B., & Landerman, L. R. (1997) · American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00019442-199721520-00006 · Cited by 203 · see citing works
SEVEN-DAY ACTIVITY AND SELF-REPORT COMPARED TO A DIRECT MEASURE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Taylor, C. B., Coffey, T., Berra, K. A., IAFFALDANO, R., CASEY, K., & Haskell, W. L. (1984) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a113954 · Cited by 202 · see citing works
International Textbook of Obesity
(2001) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/0470846739 · Cited by 185 · see citing works
Biological differences in depression and anxiety across races and ethnic groups.
Lin, K. M. (2001) · PubMed · Cited by 180 · see citing works
Reliability of self-reported alcohol consumption in a general population survey.
Williams, G. D., Aitken, S. S., & Malin, H. (1985) · Journal of Studies on Alcohol · doi:10.15288/jsa.1985.46.223 · Cited by 161 · see citing works
The role of exercise in the treatment of obesity
Votruba, S. B., Horvitz, M. A., & Schoeller, D. A. (2000) · Nutrition · doi:10.1016/s0899-9007(99)00264-6 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
Firm Believers? Religion, Body Weight, and Well-Being
Ferraro, K. F. (1998) · Review of Religious Research · doi:10.2307/3512590 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
Tomb, Temple, Machine and Self: The Social Construction of the Body
Synnott, A. (1992) · British Journal of Sociology · doi:10.2307/591202 · Cited by 124 · see citing works
Coakley, S. (2000) · Cited by 120 · see citing works
Editorial: Religion, Spirituality, and Medicine: A Rebuttal to Skeptics
Koenig, H. G., Idler, E. L., Kasl, S. V., Hays, J. C., George, L. K., Musick, M. A., Larson, D. B., Collins, T. R., & Benson, H. (1999) · The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine · doi:10.2190/c2fb-95vw-fkyd-c8rv · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Subjective Change and Mental Health: A Self-Concept Theory
Keyes, C. L. M., & Ryff, C. D. (2000) · Social Psychology Quarterly · doi:10.2307/2695873 · Cited by 106 · see citing works
Mental health, stress, and poor health behaviors in two community samples
Cohen, S., Schwartz, J. E., Bromet, E. J., & PARKINSON, D. K. (1991) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/0091-7435(91)90029-4 · Cited by 97 · see citing works
Reliability and validity of self-report and observers' estimates of relative weight
Wing, R. R., Epstein, L. H., Ossip, D. J., & LaPorte, R. E. (1979) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/0306-4603(79)90047-9 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
The relationship between social status and body mass index in the Minnesota Heart Health Program.
Jeffery, R. W., Forster, J. L., Folsom, A. R., et al. (1989) · PubMed · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Social and Cultural Influences on Obesity
Sobal, J. (2001) · doi:10.1002/0470846739.ch21 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Self-citationSocial factors and health: the causation-selectionissue revisited.
Goldman, N. (1994) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.91.4.1251 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Age, Body Mass Index, and Functional Illness
Ferraro, K. F., & Booth, T. L. (1999) · The Journals of Gerontology Series B · doi:10.1093/geronb/54b.6.s339 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
Social class, social support and obesity risk in children
Gerald, L. B., Anderson, A. S., Johnson, G. D., Hoff, C. J., & Trimm, F. (1994) · Child Care Health and Development · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2214.1994.tb00377.x · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Commentary: Globalization and the epidemiology of obesity
Sobal, J. (2001) · International Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/ije/30.5.1136 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Self-citationRapidly Developing Overweight in School Children as an Indicator of Psychosocial Stress
Mellbin, T., & Vuille, J. C. (1989) · Acta Paediatrica · doi:10.1111/j.1651-2227.1989.tb17938.x · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Religion and Adult Mental Health: State of the Science in Nursing
Mickley, J. R., Carson, V., & Soeken, K. L. (1995) · Issues in Mental Health Nursing · doi:10.3109/01612849509072529 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Attributes of successful approaches to weight loss and control
Foreyt, J. P., & Goodrick, G. K. (1994) · Applied and Preventive Psychology · doi:10.1016/s0962-1849(05)80095-2 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Obesity in young Dutch adults: I, socio-demographic variables and body mass index.
Baecke, J. A. H., BUREMA, J., Frijters, J. E. R., et al. (1983) · PubMed · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Are Religious Children Bigger Liars?
Francis, L. J., Pearson, P. R., & Kay, W. K. (1983) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.2466/pr0.1983.52.2.551 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Overweight and Weight Management: The Health Professional's Guide to Understanding and Practice
Clark, N. G. (1998) · Europe PMC (PubMed Central) · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Variations in quantity‐frequency measures of alcohol consumption from a general population survey
WILLIAMS, G. D., Proudfit, A. H., Quinn, E. A., & Campbell, K. E. (1994) · Addiction · doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.1994.tb00915.x · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Testing competing theoretical concepts: Adolescent alcohol consumption
Benda, B. B. (1994) · Deviant Behavior · doi:10.1080/01639625.1994.9967980 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Religion and Cardiovascular Disease Risk
Lapane, K. L., Lasater, T. M., Allan, C., & Carleton, R. A. (1997) · Journal of Religion and Health · doi:10.1023/a:1027444621177 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Religious Preference, Church Activity, and Physical Exercise
Merrill, R. M., & Thygerson, A. L. (2001) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1006/pmed.2001.0851 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Enhancing social support in weight loss management groups
Parham, E. S. (1993) · Journal of the American Dietetic Association · doi:10.1016/0002-8223(93)91648-a · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Women's Religiosity and Employment: The LDS Experience
Chadwick, B. A., & Garrett, H. D. (1995) · Review of Religious Research · doi:10.2307/3511535 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Exercise with or without dietary restriction and obesity treatment.
SARIS, W. H. M. (1995) · PubMed · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Smoking status by proxy and self report: rate of agreement in different ethnic groups
Navarro, A. M. (1999) · Tobacco Control · doi:10.1136/tc.8.2.182 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
RELIGIOSITY AND LIE SCORES: A QUESTION OF INTERPRETATION
Francis, L. J., Pearson, P. R., & Kay, W. K. (1988) · Social Behavior and Personality An International Journal · doi:10.2224/sbp.1988.16.1.91 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
IQ and Stratification: An Empirical Evaluation of Herrnstein and Murray's Social Change Argument
Tittle, C. R., & Rotolo, T. (2000) · Social Forces · doi:10.1093/sf/79.1.1 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Religiosity and Prejudice: An Update and Denominational Analysis
Jacobson, C. K. (1998) · Review of Religious Research · doi:10.2307/3512592 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Body Weight, Body Composition and Longevity
Allison, D. B., Heo, M., Fontaine, K. R., & Hoffman, D. J. (2001) · doi:10.1002/0470846739.ch3 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Social aspects of obesity: influences, consequences, assessments, and interventions.
Sobal, J., Devine, C. M., & Dalton, S. E. (1997) · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Self-citationFocus on Primary Care Evaluation, Management, and Treatment of Obesity in Women
Dickerson, V. M. (2001) · Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey · doi:10.1097/00006254-200110000-00024 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Religion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinical Implications
Koenig, H. G. (2012) · ISRN Psychiatry · doi:10.5402/2012/278730 · Cited by 2,423 · see citing works
“[320] K.”
BackgroundFeinstein, M., Liu, K., Ning, H., Fitchett, G., & Lloyd-Jones, D. M. (2010) · Circulation · doi:10.1161/circulationaha.109.879973 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
- Authors
- Kim, K. H., Sobal, J., & Wethington, E.
- Affiliations
- Cornell University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Kim, K H
- Venue
- International Journal of Obesity
- Published
- 2003-03-27
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 469-477
- ISSN
- 0307-0565 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-5497
- OpenAlex
- W2129636876
- Cited by
- 143
- References
- 72
- Citations by year
- 2025: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 46 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 3.59
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- International Journal of Obesity (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (DK07158, T32DK007158)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Religion and Society Interactions
- Keywords
- religion, body weight, body mass index, religious denominations, religiosity, conservative Protestants, smoking, sex differences, middle-aged adults
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Attitude to Health, Body Image, Body Weight, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Obesity, Regression Analysis, Religion, Sex Factors, Body Mass Index
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
