Oh, for heaven's sake

What kind of science is this?

"America is becoming known as a nation of gluttony and obesity, and churches are a feeding ground for this problem," says Ken Ferraro, a professor of sociology who has studied religion and body weight since the early 1990s. "If religious leaders and organizations neglect this issue, they will contribute to an epidemic that will cost the health-care system millions of dollars and reduce the quality of life for many parishioners."

He analyzed the religious practices and body mass index, often referred to as BMI, of more than 2,500 people during an eight-year period from 1986 to 1994. He found that the use of religious media resources, such as television, books or radio, was a strong predictor of obesity among women. The incidence of obesity increased by 14 percent for this group. At the same time, the more often women attended religious services, the less likely they were to be obese.

Did it ever freaking occur to this guy that fat people just tend to sit around on the couch and watch television more than thin people do? If they're religious, I guess they watch religious programming, but what if they're into game shows or soaps? Precisely how does watching the Hour of Power make people any fatter than watching Jeopardy?

Academic twaddle makes me very cross.

Comments

[SeanH]

I need become a social scientist. I've got a theory guys who watch football tend to be fatter than guys who play football. I'm also willing to spend the next decade or so at professors' wages proving it.

[gail]

There also might be a beer variable in that one.

[Alan Kellogg]

keep in mind that, on the average, church goers tend to be more prosperous than non-church goers in a given community. Good work ethic, mutual support, that sort of thing

[Rob B.]

Whatever. Causation confused with correlation, again.

[Jake]

The article failed to mention that the control group was 'people that sit around watching porn"... which of course leads to exercise of one form or another..