Religion and BMI in Australia
Survey
HILDA
Author(s)
Date Issued
2014-02
Pages
217-228
Keywords
Health
BMI
Obesity
Religion
Abstract
We estimated the relationship between religion and body mass index (BMI) for a general and representative sample of the Australia population. Data from the Household Income Labour Dynamics survey were analysed for 9,408 adults aged 18 and older. OLS regression analyses revealed that religious denomination was significantly related to higher BMI, after controlling for socio-demographic, health behaviours, and psychosocial variables. ‘Baptist’ men had, on average, a 1.3 higher BMI compared to those reporting no religious affiliation. Among women, ‘Non-Christians’ had, on average, a 1 unit lower BMI compared to those reporting no religious affiliation while ‘Other Christian’ women reported, on average, a 1 unit higher BMI. Our results also indicate that there was a negative relationship between religious importance and BMI among Australian women.
External resource (Link)
Subject Keywords
DSS Main category
DSS Sub-category
Type
Journal Articles
