Frequent Religious Attendance May Encourage Better Health Behaviors.

2001 MAR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) --

Individuals who attend weekly religious services may be more likely than less-frequent attenders to improve their health behaviors and to maintain already established good health habits, according to a three-decade-long study.

"Our analyses indicate that attenders did not all start off with such good behaviors," said lead author William J. Strawbridge, PhD, of the Human Population Laboratory in Berkeley, California. "To some extent, their good health behaviors occurred in conjunction with their attendance."

Several studies have found religious attendance improves one's chance of survival. Those who regularly attend services are known to smoke and drink less, and in general to exhibit better health behaviors. However, the question remaining has been whether religious organizations attract people who already have good health behaviors or if attendance helps create these behaviors.

Strawbridge and colleagues addressed this question by analyzing nearly 30 years of health data on more than 2,600 individuals.

"We examined the extent to which religious attendance is associated with both improving poor health behaviors and maintaining good ones already established," said Strawbridge. "Individuals who regularly attended religious services were more likely to become more physically active, quit smoking, become less depressed, increase social relationships, and initiate and maintain stable marriages," he said.

Certain results were stronger for ...