Women Who Don’t Smoke Face Greater Obesity Risk, Scottish Researchers Find

Women who have never smoked face a higher risk of being overweight or obese than those who light up, according to a study by Scottish researchers in today’s British Medical Journal.

The findings from the study of 3,613 Scottish women who were followed for 28 years suggest that higher smoking rates decades ago masked the true extent of obesity, the researchers wrote. Declines in tobacco use in industrialized countries since the early 1970s may help explain the increase in the number of people who are overweight or obese, they said.

The study also concluded that obesity was more prevalent in poorer women, who had higher death rates from related conditions, than in wealthier ones. Women in the study who avoided smoking and kept their weight in check had the lowest death rates, regardless of whether they were rich or poor.

“There is a general sense that if you live on the wrong side of the tracks, you are bound to be less healthy,” Laurence Gruer, the lead researcher and director of public health science for NHS Health Scotland in Glasgow, said in a telephone interview. “This shows that’s not necessarily the case.”

Nicotine, a stimulant found in tobacco, may eventually explain more about the relationship between smoking and obesity rates, Gruer said. Nicotine appears to suppress the appetite of some smokers and may play a role in why some people who quit smoking go on to gain weight, he said.


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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-28/women-who-don-t-smoke-face-greater-obesity-risk-scottish-researchers-find.html

Obesity and attending religious events linked, study finds

Warning: Spending too much time at church may be harmful to your health.

A new stuhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifdy has found that young adults who frequently attend religious activities are 50 percent more likely to become obese by middle age compared with those who don’t take part in any religious events.

“We don’t know why frequent religious participation is associated with development of obesity, but the upshot of these findings highlight a group that could benefit from targeted efforts at obesity prevention,” said Matthew Feinstein, the study’s lead investigator and a fourth-year student at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “It’s possible that getting together once a week and associating good works and happiness with eating unhealthy foods could lead to the development of habits that are associated with greater body weight and obesity.”

The study tracked 2,433 young men and women for 18 years in Chicago, Minneapolis, Birmingham, Ala., and Oakland, Calif.

In the study, “frequent” religious participation meant attending at least one event per week. Most, but not all of the participants, were Christians — reflecting the dominant religion in the United States, Feinstein said.

Courtney Parker, the catering manager for the 20,000-member Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn, said he’s not entirely surprised by the study’s results. Parker suspects there may be a historical connection between over-eating and going to church. In years gone by, so many things were taboo — but not eating, Parker said.

Years ago, “church services ran long,” Parker said. “So the first thing you do is go eat, and then you go to sleep.”

Parker said Apostolic has made a point in recent years of serving healthy food at church events. So you’re more likely to see baked fish or chicken, rather than pizza, on the menu.

Feinstein said the study’s results shouldn’t be a cause for alarm because previous studies have shown that regular churchgoers tend to smoke less, have better mental health and live longer than those who don’t go to church.

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http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/4490719-460/obesity-and-attending-religious-events-linked-study-finds.html