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In a curiously related matter, I read a post online at another location in which a critic blamed Utah’s high rates of obesity and diabetes on Latter-day Saint culture. Others immediately joined the chorus of condemnation. So l looked up data, by state, on obesity (also here, where Utah ranked thirty-seventh of the fifty states) and diabetes.

My question is whether the folks who make such allegations ever consult anything, before they post, beside their burning hostility toward the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Mormons on average weigh 4.6 pounds more than other Utahans, a study by a Brigham Young University professor concluded. The study also found that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were 14 percent more likely than nonmembers to be obese. That was 18 percent for men, and 9 percent for women.

The study was made by BYU health science professor Ray Merrill from data obtained in 1996, 2001 and 2003-2004 by the Utah Health Status Survey.

The most recent numbers, while still high, showed there has been some improvement since 1996, when Mormon adults were found to be 5.7 pounds heavier on average and 34 percent more likely to be obese.

Merrill's study suggests Mormons may be using excessive eating as a substitute for prohibited indulgences such as smoking and drinking.

"For years, the church has focused on the don'ts -- don't smoke, don't drink, and all the other things that you shouldn't do that are heavily enforced," said Steve Aldana, a BYU professor who presented some of the study's findings at a recent heart conference at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center.

Aldana said the church is one of the few organizations actively working on the problem by instituting a wellness program for its employees and calling wellness missionaries. But, he said, there is much more to be done.

"You still aren't hearing this over the pulpit," he said.

A spokesman for the church declined comment

Despite evidence of the salutary effects of religion on physical health, relatively little attention has been paid to the influence of religiosity on the risk of overweight and obesity. Our study examines this relationship with specific attention to the influence of Latter-day Saint (LDS, Mormon) affiliation and attendance on bodyweight status. Latter-day Saints make an excellent test case because LDS proscriptions against the consumption of alcohol, coffee, tea, and tobacco could lead to either a reduced risk of overweight and obesity by reinforcing a broader constellation of healthy habits or a greater risk of overweight and obesity by contributing to unhealthy behaviors (e.g., overeating) that are substituted for religiously proscribed substance use. Given the salience of gender in the LDS context and gender-specific differences in bodyweight status, our analyses are run separately for men and women. While LDS men exhibit a somewhat greater obesity risk, LDS women are especially likely to face overweight and obesity risks. These findings demonstrate that religiosity can, in some circumstances, undermine physical health and that conservative religions can compromise bodyweight in gender-specific ways.

After my recent post on Mormon vegetarianism, author Jane Birch contacted me about the importance of a plant-based diet in the Mormon Word of Wisdom. As she says below, she’s concerned that Mormons are ignoring this key part of the Word of Wisdom, to the detriment of our health; Mormons are 14% more likely than other Americans to be obese. — JKR

That’s not the case today. Just go to a typical ward, or congregation, on any given Sunday. You want proof of our unhealthy diets? It’s visible in nearly every pew in the chapel. According to 1996 data from Brigham Young University health science professor Ray Merrill, Utah Latter-day Saints were, on average, 34% more likely to be obese than other Utahns. A 2006 update to that study did show improvement: Utah Latter-day Saints were 14% more likely to be obese.

That’s a move in the right direction, but Latter-day Saint obesity is still a problem. Even here on the East Coast, where I live, the overweight members tend to outnumber the lean ones. If you stay for an after-church potluck, you will understand why. There is nothing healthy about the way most of us eat.

So how can we possibly claim to follow the Word of Wisdom and eat and look like we do? Being overweight puts you at a higher risk for virtually every chronic illness known to humankind, including cancer. Recently I had to explain to a grieving spouse why her husband developed cirrhosis of the liver. “He never drank!” she assured me. But he was morbidly obese and had no clue that sugar and processed foods are every bit as hard on the liver as alcohol.

Everybody Wang Chung wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 22, 2023 5:44 pm