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Religion and Body Weight Among African-American Adults Attempting to Lose Weight: An Exploratory Study

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Abstract

Religion and body weight was explored at two time points among overweight and obese African-American adults. Baseline and follow-up data were collected from 26 adults participating in a weight loss intervention and analyzed using multiple regression analyses of religious measures, body weight, and other variables. Frequent church attendance was significantly associated with greater weight lost from baseline to 16-week follow-up. In this exploratory study, religious interactions and experiences may be involved in shaping body weight among African-Americans attempting to lose weight.

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Funding

This study was funded by Award Number P20MD002329 from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, 72205, USA

    Karen Hye-cheon Kim Yeary & Page C. Moore

  2. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA

    Jeffery Sobal

Authors
  1. Karen Hye-cheon Kim Yeary
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  2. Page C. Moore
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  3. Jeffery Sobal
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Correspondence to Karen Hye-cheon Kim Yeary.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Yeary, K.Hc.K., Moore, P.C. & Sobal, J. Religion and Body Weight Among African-American Adults Attempting to Lose Weight: An Exploratory Study. J Relig Health 59, 758–771 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-018-0633-z

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