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Why Religion and Spirituality Matter for Public Health pp 165–173Cite as

Public Health Nutrition, Religion, and Spirituality

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Part of the book series: Religion, Spirituality and Health: A Social Scientific Approach ((RELSPHE,volume 2))

Abstract

This chapter reviews theories and empirical evidence on religion and spirituality (R/S) as factors relevant to public health nutrition, the field of concentration of about 3% of public health students nationwide. We discuss R/S-health evidence pertaining to fruit , vegetable , and fat intake, overweight status, eating disorders , and fasting and cholesterol .

Findings indicate that engagement with R/S activities shows generally favorable associations with greater fruit and vegetable intake. R/S has shown a mixture of favorable and unfavorable associations with fat intake and overweight status, and a mix of favorable and curvilinear relations with measures of overall dietary quality. Religious fasting, especially Ramadan fasting by healthy individuals or those with cardiovascular disease, shows generally favorable associations with lower cholesterol and weight status, but these patterns do not generalize to diabetics. R/S shows a complex relation with eating disorders (EDs), with some R/S dimensions, such as secure divine attachment, showing favorable associations with lower ED. Integration of attention to R/S issues in ED treatment is widespread and evidence suggests it may enhance effectiveness compared to treatments based solely on cognitive or emotional support. Most evidence on R/S and nutrition comes from US-based or other Western samples, primarily Christian, although several studies have examined Muslim Ramadan fasting, and scattered studies have also examined other traditions, as well as non-denominational spirituality measures.

This chapter is one of thirteen reviews in this volume providing a public health perspective on the empirical evidence relating R/S to physical and mental health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Doug Oman

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  1. University of California, Berkeley, California, USA

    Doug Oman

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Oman, D. (2018). Public Health Nutrition, Religion, and Spirituality. In: Oman, D. (eds) Why Religion and Spirituality Matter for Public Health. Religion, Spirituality and Health: A Social Scientific Approach, vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73966-3_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73966-3_9

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-73965-6

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