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Religion, social support, fat intake and physical activity
Karen Hye-cheon Kim1, Jeffery Sobal
1Department of Health Education and Health Behavior, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 232B Rosenau Hall, CB #7440, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7440, USA. kkim@email.unc.edu
Public Health Nutrition
|September 17, 2004
Summary
Religion appears to have a limited role in shaping diet and physical activity in contemporary US society. While some links were found between religious affiliation and fat intake in women, and religion and physical activity, overall associations were minimal.
Area of Science:
- Sociology of health
- Behavioral science
- Public health
Background:
- Research often treats diet and exercise as direct causes of disease.
- The contextual factors influencing the development and maintenance of health behaviors like diet and exercise are less understood.
- Religion and social support are potential contextual factors influencing health behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between religion and social support with fat intake and physical activity.
- To understand how these factors contribute to the development and maintenance of health behaviors.
Main Methods:
- Survey data from 546 adults aged 17-91 years in upstate New York.
- Analysis focused on multiple facets of religion, social support, fat intake, and physical activity.
- Statistical analysis controlled for demographics and social support.
Main Results:
- Most associations between religion, fat intake, and physical activity were not statistically significant.
- Conservative Protestant and "Other" affiliated women reported higher fat intake than Catholic women, after controlling for covariates.
- Religious commitment in women and divine social support in men were linked to increased moderate physical activity.
Conclusions:
- Religion appears to play a minor role in the development and maintenance of diet and physical activity in contemporary US society.
- The limited range of religiosity in the sample may have underestimated religion's influence.
- Further research is warranted to explore the nuanced relationship between religion and physical activity, particularly in women.