November 7, 2006 Silver Spring, Maryland, United States …. [Taashi Rowe/ANN]
Church attendance is supposed to be about growth–spiritual growth–not physical growth. But that's not always the case among churchgoers in the United States, says Dr. Ken Ferraro, a Purdue University researcher.
According to Purdue University News, Ferraro, a professor of sociology who has studied religion and body weight since the early 1990s, analyzed the religious practices and body mass index of more than 2,500 people from 1986 to 1994. He found that those who are religious are more likely to be obese than the general population. The results of Ferraro's study appeared in the June issue of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.
While the study pointed to Baptists as one of the heaviest faith groups, health leaders in the Seventh-day Adventist church say their church members are not off the hook.
The Adventist Health Study, which originated in the 1970s, found that Adventists are one of the healthiest and most long-living groups. But how do Seventh-day Adventists measure up today?
Because there are no current studies that look specifically at obesity in the worldwide body of Adventist believers, no one really knows the answer. However, many church leaders agree that health-wise Adventists are starting to look a lot like the general population. A 2001 survey on Adventists living in Australia and New Zealand showed 53 percent of adult members are overweight.
Adventists in the countries of the church's Northern-Asia Pacific region don't seem to have an obesity problem just yet, something that church leaders are linking to lifestyle.
“The lifestyle here in our [region] does not tend to contribute to obesity that much currently,” says Glenn Mitchell, the communication director for the church there. “First of all, when church members get together they are generally eating their traditional foods which for the most part are not high [in] caloric value. Second, many people in this part of the world still walk a good bit to get from place to place.”
Clearly church affiliation in and of itself does not cause obesity. But Adventist church leaders agree that many of the traditions that church members hold dear can contribute to weight gain. Ferraro explains that many religious activities are rooted in the high-calorie food often served at Bible study breakfasts and fellowship lunches. Add to that the sedentary nature of most religious programs–sitting through midday service, prayer meetings, Bible studies and Sabbath afternoon programs–and it's clear that being religious can help pack on pounds.
Dr. Allan Handysides, health ministries director for the Adventist world church, Adventist world church, points to individual responsibility.
“The church is composed of [individual] members,” he says. “How is the corporate church going to do anything about people's eating habits?”
Ferraro, though, says churches must do something about their members' health soon. He says, “if religious leaders and organizations neglect this issue, they will contribute to an epidemic that will cost the health-care system millions of dollars and reduce the quality of life for many [members].”
The Fun, Fit and Free program led by an Adventist in the U.S. city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania proves that churches can do something about obesity. Since 2001 Gwen Foster, the health and fitness director for the city of Philadelphia has been implementing programs in what was once America's “fattest city.” Since Foster–who has broadcasted Adventist health principles through various programs all over the city–has been working with the city, Philadelphia has dropped that dubious title. It is now number 23 on the list of American's 25 fattest cities–that's a long way to fall after being number one.
Foster has taken health lectures, exercise programs and cooking classes to offices, homes and now has brought the program to churches. Foster says since churches tend to influence members' lifestyles, they are the best places to advocate better health.
Foster organizes a 40-day workshop with a health lecture, a vegan cooking school and aerobic exercise program in various churches, mosques and synagogues. She says she has seen tremendous health differences from when members first start the program.
Richard Willis, health ministries director for the Adventist church in Britain, says the health focus in Adventist churches is fast becoming simply rhetoric.
“We talk about health but it doesn't happen very often,” says Willis. He added that the trend toward obesity in the Adventist church is “very indicative of lifestyle in general. I think the point is that church doesn't help when it should.”
Jonathan Duffy, the health ministries director for the Adventist church in the South Pacific agrees with Willis. He points to that 2001 survey of Adventists in New Zealand and Australia.
Of the results, Duffy says, “Indeed this is surprising for a group who profess to be a people of health, but are we, or is it just a part of our heritage? When was the last time you heard a sermon on health?”
Duffy continues, “Health has long been a litmus test for our religiosity. You were a good Adventist because you didn't do this, now you are a mature Adventist because you are no longer tied to the old 'works' thing and you show it by doing what you didn't used to do. For example, Adventists didn't eat meat or drink alcohol. So how do we emphasize the theology of health, the relationship between my health and my spiritual well being? We have stopped talking about it and the church has stopped doing it and who is left to talk about it?”
There are no easy answers of course, but Handysides says, “We need for people to recognize the value and the beauty of life. If we can only recognize what a gift God has given us then perhaps we'd have more value for life and just take care of things a bit better.”
He adds that people often mistake the Sabbath day as a day to sit around and do nothing. “The Lord did good things on the Sabbath. He walked around meeting people and healing the sick. There is nothing scriptural about going for 'lay' activities.”
Willis agreed that balanced Sabbathkeeping should involve physical activity such as some form of witness or a walk in the park or countryside. “Better yet,” adds Willis, “Adventists should have gymnasiums at our churches. Families that play together, stay together!”
Additional reporting by Victor Hulbert from British Union Conference News.
Copyright (c) 2006 by Adventist News Network.
