HYMNS AND HAMBURGERS

Some of the fire and brimstone sermons I’ve listened to would drive me to drink, not to eat.

NOW GOING TO CHURCH CAN MAKE YOU FAT, EXPERTS WARN
Regular worshippers are 50% more likely to be obese by middle age

Mail Online
March 25, 2011

Going to church may be good for a person's soul - but it is not so beneficial for their waistline, it has been claimed.

U.S. researchers say Sunday worship can be just bad for your health as burgers and chips.

Experts at a Chicago university found those who worship regularly were 50 per cent more likely to be obese by middle age compared to non-religious people.

They are not quite sure why, though some say that because eating during church services has traditionally been allowed, worshippers were inclined to munch their way through the sermon.

The study into obesity and churchgoing was led by Matthew Feinstein, a fourth-year student at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

It looked at the lives of 2,433 people in Chicago, Minneapolis, Birmingham, Alabama and Oakland, California.

He said: 'We don’t know why frequent religious participation is associated with development of obesity, but the upshot of these findings highlight a group that could benefit from targeted efforts at obesity prevention.

'It’s possible that getting together once a week and associating good works and happiness with eating unhealthy foods could lead to the development of habits that are associated with greater body weight and obesity.'

Some church-goers believe there might be a historical link between tucking into too many burgers and praising the Lord.

Courtney Parker, the catering manager for the 20,000-member Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn, told the Sun Times, in the past, church services were long and eating was one of the few things that was not taboo.

He added: 'So the first thing you do is go eat, and then you go to sleep.'

It's not all doom and waist-line gloom though. Mr Feinstein said regular churchgoers smoked less on the whole, lived longer and had a better mental health than those who do not go to church.