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Major-Smith D, Morgan J, Emmett P, Golding J, Northstone K. Associations between religious/spiritual beliefs and behaviours and dietary patterns: analysis of the parental generation in a prospective cohort study (ALSPAC) in Southwest England. Public Health Nutr 2023; 26:2895-2911. [PMID: 37665131 PMCID: PMC10755456 DOI: 10.1017/s1368980023001866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2022] [Revised: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/05/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Religious/spiritual beliefs and behaviours (RSBB) have been associated with health outcomes, with diet a potential mediator of this relationship. We therefore explored whether RSBB were associated with differences in diet. DESIGN Dietary patterns and nutrient intakes were derived from food frequency questionnaire completed by pregnant women in 1991-1992 (mean age = 28·3 years, range = 15-46) and by the mothers and partners 4 years post-partum (mothers mean age = 32·3, range = 19-49; partners mean age = 34·5, range = 18-74). RSBB exposures measured in pregnancy included religious belief, affiliation and attendance. We first explored whether RSBBs were associated with dietary patterns in confounder-adjusted linear regression models. If associations were found, we examined whether RSBB were associated with nutrient intake (linear regression) and following nutrient intake guidelines (logistic regression). SETTING Prospective birth cohort study in Southwest England (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children; ALSPAC). PARTICIPANTS 13 689 enrolled mothers and their associated partners. RESULTS In pregnant women, RSBB were associated with higher 'traditional' (i.e. 'meat and two veg') and lower 'vegetarian' dietary pattern scores. Religious attendance and non-Christian religious affiliation were associated with higher 'health-conscious' dietary pattern scores. Religious attendance was associated with increased micronutrient intake and following recommended micronutrient intake guidelines, with weaker effects for religious belief and affiliation. Comparable patterns were observed for mothers and partners 4 years post-partum, although associations between RSBB and nutrient intakes were weaker for partners. CONCLUSIONS RSBBs are associated with broad dietary patterns and nutrient intake in this cohort. If these reflect causal relationships, diet may potentially mediate the pathway between RSBB and health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Major-Smith
- Centre for Academic Child Health, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Jimmy Morgan
- Centre for Academic Child Health, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Pauline Emmett
- Centre for Academic Child Health, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Jean Golding
- Centre for Academic Child Health, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Kate Northstone
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
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Upenieks L, Hill TD, Ford-Robertson J. Religion and Pandemic Weight Gain: A Refuge from the Storm? JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY AND THEOLOGY 2023; 51:392-411. [PMID: 38602957 PMCID: PMC10183346 DOI: 10.1177/00916471231167225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic was an inherently stressful global crisis that was associated with weight gain for over 40% of the American public. Building on previous research, we draw on recently collected national survey data from the United States to examine the effects of religious attendance (both in-person and virtual), the sense of divine control, and religious/spiritual (R/S) struggles on pandemic weight gain. A series of logistic regression models were conducted. Our findings suggest that divine control and monthly in-person religious attendance were associated with a lower risk of pandemic weight gain, while R/S struggles were associated with a higher risk of weight gain. Our results reveal the complex role that religiosity can play with respect to pandemic weight gain.
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Trangerud HA. "What is the problem with vaccines?" A typology of religious vaccine skepticism. Vaccine X 2023; 14:100349. [PMID: 37484867 PMCID: PMC10362305 DOI: 10.1016/j.jvacx.2023.100349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Revised: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Research has identified religion as one of numerous factors that may contribute to delay or refusal of vaccination. The influence of religion on vaccine decisions may be accidental, or it may involve explicit religious objections. By presenting a typology of religious vaccine skepticism, this article seeks to give a comprehensive overview of the essence of these objections and to clarify differences and similarities between them. This knowledge is useful for policy-makers and others who wish to better understand the influence of religion on vaccine decision-making. The typology consists of five main types: (1) a worldview clash type, in which vaccines do not make sense as a health intervention; (2) a divine will type, which represents a form of passive fatalism; (3) an immorality type, which considers some vaccines unethical because of their production or effect; (4) an impurity type, pointing to ingredients that will defile the body; and (5) a conspiracy type, in which a vaccine plot is targeting a religious group.
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Walters K, Benjamins MR. Religious Beliefs About Health and the Body and their Association with Subjective Health. JOURNAL OF RELIGION AND HEALTH 2022; 61:4450-4465. [PMID: 33501629 DOI: 10.1007/s10943-020-01178-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/31/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Evidence supports an association between religion and spirituality and health outcomes. The aim of this study is to examine religious beliefs related to health and their relationship to self-rated health in a large and diverse population-based sample in Chicago. Three religious beliefs were assessed-the importance of prayer for health, God's will as the most important factor in getting well, and sanctity of the body. All three beliefs were highly prevalent, especially among racial/ethnic minorities. Unadjusted models showed a significant association between two of the beliefs and self-rated health, which did not persist in the adjusted models. This study provides insight into different belief patterns among racial/ethnic groups and has practical implications for both clinicians and public health practitioners.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly Walters
- Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University, 3333 Green Bay Rd, North Chicago, IL, 60064, US
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Ezekiel, Daniel, and Christian Diet Culture. RELIGIONS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/rel13020182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The books of Ezekiel and Daniel, specifically Ezek 4.9 and Daniel 1, 3, and 6, are now being used to market healthy eating and diet plans to Christians, especially evangelical Christians, in ways that are the opposite of how the texts appear in their historical and literary contexts. Such usage is a potentially problematic example of prophetic reception history and its contemporary significance because the language in these plans is the same language found in secular diet plans with biblical prooftexts added to them. The addition may actually make the plans even more problematic by linking weight and fitness to religion and spirituality.
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Bentley-Edwards KL, Blackman Carr LT, Robbins PA, Conde E, Zaw K, Darity WA. Investigating Denominational and Church Attendance Differences in Obesity and Diabetes in Black Christian Men and Women. JOURNAL OF RELIGION AND HEALTH 2020; 59:3055-3070. [PMID: 31359241 PMCID: PMC6986996 DOI: 10.1007/s10943-019-00888-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Prior investigations of the relationships between religious denomination and diabetes and obesity do not consider the nuance within black faith traditions. This study used data from the National Survey of American Life (n = 4344) to identify denominational and religious attendance differences in obesity and diabetes among black Christian men and women. Key findings indicated that black Catholics and Presbyterians had lower odds of diabetes than Baptists. Black men that attended church almost daily were nearly twice as likely to be obese than those that never attend services. These results indicate that denomination and gender should inform faith-based and placed health promotion approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keisha L Bentley-Edwards
- Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity, Duke University, 2024 West Main Street, Box 104407, Durham, NC, 27705, USA
- General Internal Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Loneke T Blackman Carr
- Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity, Duke University, 2024 West Main Street, Box 104407, Durham, NC, 27705, USA.
| | - Paul A Robbins
- Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity, Duke University, 2024 West Main Street, Box 104407, Durham, NC, 27705, USA
| | - Eugenia Conde
- Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity, Duke University, 2024 West Main Street, Box 104407, Durham, NC, 27705, USA
| | - Khaing Zaw
- Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity, Duke University, 2024 West Main Street, Box 104407, Durham, NC, 27705, USA
| | - William A Darity
- Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity, Duke University, 2024 West Main Street, Box 104407, Durham, NC, 27705, USA
- Samuel DuBois Cook Professor of Public Policy, African and African American Studies, and Economics, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
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Brodie MA, Pliner EM, Ho A, Li K, Chen Z, Gandevia SC, Lord SR. Big data vs accurate data in health research: Large-scale physical activity monitoring, smartphones, wearable devices and risk of unconscious bias. Med Hypotheses 2018; 119:32-36. [PMID: 30122488 DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2018.07.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2018] [Revised: 06/29/2018] [Accepted: 07/14/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Fundamental to the advancement of scientific knowledge is unbiased, accurate and validated measurement techniques. Recent United Nations and landmark Nature publications highlight the global uptake of mobile technology and the staggering potential for big data to encourage people to be physically active and to influence health policy. However, concerns exist about inconsistencies in smartphone health apps. Big data has many benefits, but noisy data may lead to wrong conclusions. In reaction to the increasing availability of low quality data; we call for a rigorous debate into the validity of substituting big data for accurate data in health research. We evaluated the step counting accuracy of a smartphone app previously used by 717,527 people from 111 countries. Our new data (from 48 participants; aged 21-59 years; body mass index 17.7-33.5 kg/m2) revealed significant (15-66%) undercounting by Apple phones. In contrast to the generally positive performances of wearable devices for stereotypical treadmill like walking, we observed extraordinarily large (0-200% of steps taken) error ranges for both Android and Apple phones. Unconscious bias (developers' perceptions of usual behaviour) may be embedded into many unvalidated smartphone apps. Consumer-grade wearable devices appear unsuitable to detect steps in people with slow, short or non-stereotypical gait patterns. Specifically, there is a risk of systematically undercounting the steps by obese people, females or people from different ethnic groups resulting in biases when reporting associations between physical inactivity and obesity. More research is required to develop smartphone apps suitable for all people of the heterogeneous global population.
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Affiliation(s)
- M A Brodie
- Falls Balance & Injury Research Centre, Neuroscience Research Australia, NSW, Australia; Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, University of New South Wales, NSW, Australia.
| | - E M Pliner
- Falls Balance & Injury Research Centre, Neuroscience Research Australia, NSW, Australia; Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - A Ho
- Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, University of New South Wales, NSW, Australia
| | - Kalina Li
- Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, University of New South Wales, NSW, Australia
| | - Z Chen
- Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, University of New South Wales, NSW, Australia
| | - S C Gandevia
- Falls Balance & Injury Research Centre, Neuroscience Research Australia, NSW, Australia; School of Medicine, University of New South Wales, NSW, Australia
| | - S R Lord
- Falls Balance & Injury Research Centre, Neuroscience Research Australia, NSW, Australia; School of Medicine, University of New South Wales, NSW, Australia
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