Conservapedia:Atheism and Obesity

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Kendoll Conservapedia claims (without any evidence whatsoever) that there is an alleged link in between atheism and obesity. They assert that those who are very religious (i.e. Christian fundamentalists) are much more likely to practice healthy habits than those who are moderately or nonreligious.[1] The article also points out that lesbians are fatter than the general population, and cites a Bible study site. The US National Library of Medicine concurs with this, however also says that little is known about the risk factors and such research may be proven invalid.[2] These baseless assertions are 'supported' with what appears to be a laundry list of seemingly random medical facts about obesity,[3] with CP claiming that atheism is the sole underlying cause. Further, they state that atheism leads to hopelessness and eventually suicide, albeit with no actual evidence to substantiate this claim. Many atheists and non-fundamentalists are very happy people, and there are Christians who commit suicide. Another unsubstantiated claim is that atheism is unappealing to women; as 'evidence,' they cite an American religious study and their own article on the subject. Finally, they cite a LiveScience study that says nothing about marriage and atheism, but only by a slim margin that women are more religious than men. The same article cites Chuck Norris as a Christian figure and claim (with no evidence) that teens are being indoctrinated by atheists.

Study shows otherwise[edit]

In March 2011, a study by the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine had found that young adults who frequently participated in religious services and activities were statistically more likely to become obese: "By tracking participants’ weight gain over time, the new study makes it clear that normal weight younger adults with high religious involvement became obese, rather than obese adults becoming more religious."[4]

See also[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. A note is that the wording of the beginning would imply that people of all religions would be healthier. However, soon after, it refers to the Christian Bible, implying that only Christians have religious health benefits.
  2. Report
  3. Most would trust WebMD or another credible source much more readily than CP
  4. Religious Young Adults Become Obese By Middle Age