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Bodyweight Perceptions Among Texas Women: The Effects of Religion, Race/Ethnicity, and Citizenship Status

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Review of Religious Research

Abstract

Despite previous work exploring linkages between religious participation and health, little research has looked at the role of religion in affecting bodyweight perceptions. Using the theoretical model developed by Levin et al. (Sociol Q 36(1):157–173, 1995) on the multidimensionality of religious participation, we develop several hypotheses and test them by using data from the 2004 Survey of Texas Adults. We estimate multinomial logistic regression models to determine the relative risk of women perceiving themselves as overweight. Results indicate that religious attendance lowers risk of women perceiving themselves as very overweight. Citizenship status was an important factor for Latinas, with non-citizens being less likely to see themselves as overweight. We also test interaction effects between religion and race. Religious attendance and prayer have a moderating effect among Latina non-citizens so that among these women, attendance and prayer intensify perceptions of feeling less overweight when compared to their white counterparts. Among African American women, the effect of increased church attendance leads to perceptions of being overweight. Prayer is also a correlate of overweight perceptions but only among African American women. We close with a discussion that highlights key implications from our findings, note study limitations, and several promising avenues for future research.

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Notes

  1. Ancillary analysis using stereotype regression showed consistent results with multinomial models. Results were provided to anonymous reviewers and are available upon request.

  2. We removed 32 (weighted) observations that reported feeling “very” or “somewhat” underweight, as well as one outlying observation with an exceedingly high BMI score of 89.77, indicating a potential data entry error.

  3. This category also includes respondents who reported completing some “some college” but did not earn a bachelor’s degree.

  4. The only exception is a significant effect for Other × Prayer. However, since the data do not allow for greater specificity in terms of the “other” category, we neither hypothesize nor make inferences related to this category but retain these respondents to avoid a loss of cases. The results for insignificant interaction terms were provided to anonymous reviewers and are available upon request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, 1 UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX, 78249, USA

    Aida I. Ramos & Gabriel A. Acevedo

  2. Department of Sociology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16801, USA

    Andrea L. Ruiz

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  1. Aida I. Ramos
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Ramos, A.I., Acevedo, G.A. & Ruiz, A.L. Bodyweight Perceptions Among Texas Women: The Effects of Religion, Race/Ethnicity, and Citizenship Status. Rev Relig Res 58, 433–455 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-016-0249-2

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