Religious Attendance and Body Mass: An Examination of Variations by Race and Gender

Intersections of Racial/Ethnic and Religious Identities on Bodily Well-Being for Black College-Attending Emerging Adults

Black undergraduates face threats to healthy weight and body image (i.e., bodily well-being). Having a strong racial/ethnic identity can promote health during emerging adulthood. However, less is known about the intersections of racial/ethnic and religious identities on the bodily well-being of Black college-attending emerging adults, despite evidence to indicate that aspects of religiosity are also associated with health. We use quantitative data from 767 Black college-attending emerging adults in the Multi-University Study of Identity and Culture to examine the independent contributions of racial/ethnic and religious identity for bodily health, and test a potential interaction between racial/ethnic and religious identity on bodily health outcomes. Results from a multivariate linear regression model indicate that Black college-attending emerging adults with both high religious identity and high racial/ethnic identity exploration had higher body mass index and less positive body image. Findings suggest ways to strengthen the development of culturally appropriate public health prevention and intervention efforts that target body image and weight for Black college-attending emerging adults. IMPACT STATEMENT: Black college-attending emerging adults face challenges to their health, particularly threats to healthy weight and body image during this period of psychosocial transitions. The developmental process of navigating racial/ethnic and religious identities during this time raises challenges and opportunities for health promotion for this population. Yet, research that explores the role of these identities remains scarce. We found that Black college-attending emerging adults had higher body mass index and more negative body image when they reported more racial/ethnic identity exploration coupled with higher religious identities. Results shed light on the complex ways that navigating both racial/ethnic and religious identities may put some Black college-attending emerging adults at greater health risk. Health education and promotion practice focused on improving Black emerging adult health in college contexts should ensure that behavioral interventions are appropriately nuanced and situated in these populations' developmental and cultural considerations.

Religion and Pandemic Weight Gain: A Refuge from the Storm?

The COVID-19 pandemic was an inherently stressful global crisis that was associated with weight gain for over 40% of the American public. Building on previous research, we draw on recently collected national survey data from the United States to examine the effects of religious attendance (both in-person and virtual), the sense of divine control, and religious/spiritual (R/S) struggles on pandemic weight gain. A series of logistic regression models were conducted. Our findings suggest that divine control and monthly in-person religious attendance were associated with a lower risk of pandemic weight gain, while R/S struggles were associated with a higher risk of weight gain. Our results reveal the complex role that religiosity can play with respect to pandemic weight gain.

Church Affirmation Moderates the Relationship Between Weight-Rejection-Sensitivity and Body Dissatisfaction in Young Adults in the USA

Systematic research on the role of social affirmation from one's religious community on body evaluations is absent. This study therefore explored the relationships among feeling affirmed-from-church, weight-rejection sensitivity, and body evaluations. Drawing from self-affirmation theory, we tested whether a social aspect of religiosity (i.e., feeling affirmed from one's religious community) attenuated the relationship between weight-rejection anxiety and body dissatisfaction, controlling for body mass, affect, and church attendance. We also examined gender differences in religiosity, body image, and fat talk in secular and religious circles in a sample of young adults in the USA (187F, 84M; M_age = 18.59, SD = 0.83). As predicted, both men and women reported hearing less fat-talk at church than among friends, and women reported a positive relation between feeling affirmed-from-church and hearing body-acceptance talk at church. The moderation prediction was supported for women. Greater affirmation-from-church weakened the effect of women's weight sensitivity on body satisfaction (but not weight esteem). For men, affirmation-from-church strengthened the effect of their weight sensitivity on body dissatisfaction and low weight esteem. Feeling affirmed from church may facilitate women's body satisfaction despite their weight-sensitivities. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Religious Service Attendance and Mortality among Adults in the United States with Chronic Kidney Disease

Religion and related institutions have resources to help individuals cope with chronic conditions, such as chronic kidney disease (CKD). The purpose of this investigation is to examine the association between religious service attendance and mortality for adults with CKD. Data were drawn from NHANES III linked to the 2015 public use Mortality File to analyze a sample of adults (n = 3558) who had CKD as defined by a single value of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 60 mL/min/1.73 m² using the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equation and/or albumin-to-creatinine ratio ≥17 mg/g for males or ≥25 for females. All-cause mortality was the primary outcome and religious service attendance was the primary independent variable. Cox proportional hazards models were estimated to determine the association between religious service attendance and mortality. The mortality risks for participants who attended a service at least once per week were 21% lower than their peers with CKD who did not attend a religious service at all (HR 0.79; CI 0.64–0.98). The association between religious service attendance and mortality in adults with CKD suggest that prospective studies are needed to examine the influence of faith-related behaviors on clinical outcomes in patients with CKD.

Partnering with Churches to Conduct a Wide-Scale Health Screening of an Urban, Segregated Community

West Side Alive (WSA) is a partnership among pastors, church members and health researchers with the goal of improving health in the churches and surrounding community in the West Side of Chicago, a highly segregated African American area of Chicago with high rates of premature mortality and social disadvantage. To inform health intervention development, WSA conducted a series of health screenings that took place in seven partner churches. Key measures included social determinants of health and healthcare access, depression and PTSD screeners, and measurement of cardiometabolic risk factors, including blood pressure, weight, cholesterol and hemoglobin A1C (A1C). A total of 1106 adults were screened, consisting of WSA church members (n = 687), members of the local community served by the church (n = 339) and 80 individuals with unknown church status. Mean age was 52.8 years, 57% were female, and 67% reported at least one social risk factor (e.g. food insecurity). Almost all participants had at least one cardiovascular risk factor (92%), including 50% with obesity, 79% with elevated blood pressure and 65% with elevated A1C. A third of participants experienced ≥ 4 potentially traumatic events and 26% screened positive for depression and/or post-traumatic stress disorder. Participants were given personalized health reports and referred to services as needed. Information from the screenings will be used to inform the design of interventions targeting the West Side community and delivered in partnership with the churches. Sharing these results helped mobilize community members to improve their own health and the health of their community.

Investigating Denominational and Church Attendance Differences in Obesity and Diabetes in Black Christian Men and Women

Prior investigations of the relationships between religious denomination and diabetes and obesity do not consider the nuance within black faith traditions. This study used data from the National Survey of American Life (n = 4344) to identify denominational and religious attendance differences in obesity and diabetes among black Christian men and women. Key findings indicated that black Catholics and Presbyterians had lower odds of diabetes than Baptists. Black men that attended church almost daily were nearly twice as likely to be obese than those that never attend services. These results indicate that denomination and gender should inform faith-based and placed health promotion approaches.

Daily Religious Coping Buffers the Stress-Affect Relationship and Benefits Overall Metabolic Health in Older Adults

This study focuses on how daily religious coping mitigates daily stress, regulates emotional responses, and ultimately produces more optimal health outcomes. Participants were 267 community-dwelling older adults from the Later Life Cohort of the Notre Dame Study of Health & Well-being (mean age=72; 63% female). Daily diary data (56 days) were used to assess the effects of daily perceived stress, daily religious coping, and their interaction on daily negative affect. Multi-level modeling (MLM) results suggested that religious coping regulated the effects of stress on negative affect (β=0.02; p<.01). The intraindividual variability in these day-level effects represent specific dynamic aspects of the individual, referred to as dynamic characteristics. These person-level dynamic characteristics derived from the MLM were correlated with indicators of metabolic health, and predicted healthier values. Most significantly, the stress buffering effects of Religious Coping predicted better metabolic health, as indicated by negative correlations with glucose tolerance (A1c; r = -0.32, p < .001) and the Obesity composite variable (r = -0.23, p = .01). Results demonstrate that the ability to use religious coping to regulate the effects of stress on negative affect may delay the onset of disorders associated with obesity and dysregulation in the metabolic system.

Religiosity and Excess Weight Among African-American Adolescents: The Jackson Heart KIDS Study

Recent studies suggest that religion and spirituality can yield health benefits for young African-Americans. We examined the relationship between religious practices, spirituality, and excess weight among African-American adolescents (N = 212) residing in the Deep South. Results from modified Poisson regression analysis indicate that adolescents who prayed daily had a lower prevalence of excess weight (PR 0.77 [95% CI 0.62-0.96]) than those who did not. This relationship was only significant for 12-15 year-old participants in age-stratified analysis. These findings suggest that preventive interventions offered to children and younger adolescents can have implications for weight status across the lifespan.

Religious Attendance and Biological Risk: A National Longitudinal Study of Older Adults

Although several studies suggest that religious involvement is associated with healthier biological functioning in later life, most of this work is cross-sectional. We extend previous research by employing a longitudinal design. Our analysis of Health and Retirement Study (2006/2010) data suggests that older adults who attended religious services weekly or more in 2006 tend to exhibit fewer high-risk biomarkers in 2010 and greater reductions in allostatic load over the 4-year study period than respondents who attended yearly or not at all. These patterns persisted with adjustments for baseline allostatic load and a range of background variables.

Religiosity and Health: A Holistic Biopsychosocial Perspective

The resurgence of interest in the influence of religion and spirituality on health is examined within the context of the holistic paradigm and historical connection between nursing and spirituality. While nursing and spirituality often intersect with end-of-life considerations, this article presents findings from studies that demonstrate that religious involvement favors health and longevity across the life course. Examples include protective associations with stress, depression, self-rated health, and infant birth weight. Theoretical and empirical explanations for this relationship are offered, such as social and psychological resources and healthy behaviors. The effects of religion on biological functioning, including allostatic load and telomere length, are also discussed, although this area is understudied. Considerations for the "dark-side" of religious involvement are also offered. Suggestions for nurses wishing to protect and promote the health of their patients using a holistic approach include expanding knowledge of research on religion and health and advocating for patients' spiritual needs by conducting a comprehensive spiritual assessment in primary, secondary, and tertiary clinical settings.

Places of Habits and Hearts: Church Attendance and Latino Immigrant Health Behaviors in the United States

INTRODUCTION

In general, church attendance can be associated with improved health behaviors and fewer related chronic diseases, suggesting a potential opportunity to counteract worsening health behaviors among some immigrants and thereby reduce health disparities. There is a paucity of research, however, on the relationship between religious involvement and immigrants' health behaviors and whether it varies by host or home country context.

AIM

To examine the relationship between religious involvement, measured by church attendance, with health behaviors among Latino immigrants in the United States (U.S.) and to compare the relationship of home and host country attendance with these behaviors.

METHODS

Data from the randomized New Immigrant Survey, including over 1200 immigrants to the U.S. from Mexico and Central America, were analyzed. Health measures included smoking, binge drinking, physical activity, and obesity. Descriptive and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed using measures of church attendance and ethnic/immigrant characteristics as well as other demographic and health care factors. Separate models were constructed for each behavior.

RESULTS

An association was found between U.S. church attendance and less smoking, less drinking, and greater physical activity but not with obesity. Threshold effects were found. However, almost no associations were found between health behaviors and home country church attendance.

CONCLUSION

The context in which people live warrants increased attention for successful health promotion initiatives for immigrant populations. The social, psychological, and religious resources in immigrant communities can be leveraged to potentially counteract worsening of chronic disease-related health behaviors of Latino immigrants in the U.S., thereby reducing health disparities.