Blacks who attend church once per week might be at greater risk of developing obesity. (Photo: Getty Images)
A choir sings after the sermon at a Sunday church service on May 31, 2009 in Denver, Colorado.
Revered Timothy Tyler gives an empassioned sermon during an “Empowerment Sunday” church service on May 31, 2009 in Denver, Colorado. Almost $30,000 was given out to needy members of the Tyler’s Shorter Community African Methodist Episcopal Church from congregation donations on Sunday. The awards, for home mortgage payments, rent payments and utilities, capped off a week of church activities called “An Economic Empowerment Experience” designed to aid the local black community, which has been hard hit by the recession. Many African Americans, as well as other minorities, fell prey to predatory mortgage lenders, which in large part led to the national U.S. foreclosure crisis. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
Celebrants sing during a church service honoring legendary Lindy Hop dancer Frankie Manning May 22, 2009 in New York City.
Revered Timothy Tyler gives an empassioned sermon during an “Empowerment Sunday” church service on May 31, 2009 in Denver, Colorado. Almost $30,000 was given out to needy members of the Tyler’s Shorter Community African Methodist Episcopal Church from congregation donations on Sunday. The awards, for home mortgage payments, rent payments and utilities, capped off a week of church activities called “An Economic Empowerment Experience” designed to aid the local black community, which has been hard hit by the recession. Many African Americans, as well as other minorities, fell prey to predatory mortgage lenders, which in large part led to the national U.S. foreclosure crisis. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
Faithful pray for needy members of their congregation affected by the recession at a Sunday church service on May 31, 2009 in Denver, Colorado.
A gospel singer performs during the Congressional Black Caucus’s Faith Leaders Summit and Conference of National Black Churches Consultation at the Renaissance Hotel May 30, 2012 in Washington, DC. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told hundreds of leading African American Church leaders that they hold an essential position in protecting and encouraging voting rights in their communities and across the country. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Wes Geary receives a free haircut at a church fellowship hall on May 30, 2009 in Denver, Colorado.
Faithful pray for needy members of their congregation affected by the recession at a Sunday church service on May 31, 2009 in Denver, Colorado.
Audience members listen to U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) speak during a town hall meeting on health care reform during a town hall meeting at the Sheldon Heights Church of Christ where they discussed health care reform August 18, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois. The congressman spoke for about an hour before taking questions. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
People applaud in the historic Sixteenth Street Baptist Church during a Southern Christian Leadership Conference rally where speakers encouraged people to vote November 3, 2008 in Birmingham, Alabama. (Getty Images)
From Frugivore Magazine: Before you deem that question even remotely blasphemous, consider a study that was done by Northwestern University last year. The study tracked 2,433 participants, 41 percent of which were African American, for 18 years, only to find that those who attended one religious event weekly [were] more at risk for becoming obese.
Over at Urban Faith, author Will LaVeist cites his brother Thomas, who is both a professor and the Director at the Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions. Thomas noted that Church culture often predicates a community where socializing begins and ends with food.
Black church culture is out of alignment with some biblical teachings, particularly when it comes to how we eat. Church culture has got us drinking Kool-Aid, eating white bread, fried chicken, large servings of macaroni and cheese and collard greens drenched with salty hog maws (foods that are high in sugar, salt, calories, and carbohydrates that trigger health problems). We’re eating this in the church basement at dinner and at church conventions! Meanwhile, the Bible teaches against gluttony.
Although it seems unfitting that the black Church should be directly held responsible for some of the health ails of the black community, as one of the staples in many of our neighborhoods, shouldn’t they at least aid in sending messages that healthy living includes both spiritual and physical well-being?
Some churches have began seeking out ways to do just that.
You may remember Rev. Michael O’ Minor, pastor of Oak Hill Baptist in Mississippi and one of the subjects of a conversation sparked by a New York Times article on healthy diet in churches. Pastor Minor was on a path to get his members to rally behind healthy eating. So much so that he banned fried foods, began to boil greens “with turkey necks instead of hamhocks,” and replaced sweet teas and soft drinks with bottled water. Minor also [installed] a track where he began having organized walks.
African Americans have the highest rate of obesity among all other groups.
What do you think? Is the Black Church Culture partially to blame for obesity in the black community? Is it time for more Churches to take action?
Read more great stories about black health on Frugivore.
