Going to a place of worship makes you healthy!

By Merill Haseen

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GOING to church or other places of worship regularly may be going out of fashion, but it's very good for you physically, as well as spiritually.

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American scientists have looked at a 30-year study of 2,600 people, and found that those who attended services regularly showed all the factors that lead to a long and healthy life: they smoked and drank less, took physical exercise and had stable marriages. Their blood pressure was lower than non-churchgoers, they were less likely to be depressed or anxious, and their immune systems were stronger. They also had less trouble keeping their weight down.

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But they didn't all start out that way: according to Dr William Strawbridge, of the Human Population Laboratory in Berkeley, California, which carried out the study. Their lifestyles tended to get healthier after regular church attendance. This shows for the first time that religious organisations help create good behaviour, rather than simply attract people who looked after themselves.

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So, why are they healthier

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Some experts believe that it could be because of the social support and friendship found in religious organisations, and that it is public worship, rather than personal religious beliefs, which makes the difference.

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Strawbridge suggested that religious attendance may offer people a sense of coherence or perceived control over their lives. Organised religion may also reinforce the rules that discourage alcohol abuse, for example, and encourage respect for the body.

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And, as other studies have shown, it was found that women churchgoers were more likely than men to improve their physical and mental health.

• Research on 5,600 older Americans, published in Journal of Aging and Health, found that regular church attendance made a difference in quality of life. Scientists suggested it was because personal religious faith promotes a sense of well-being 'by emphasising interpersonal relations, stressing forgiveness, providing hope for change,' as well as providing a sense of meaning, a promise of life after death, and a connection to one's 'conception of God or a higher spiritual force.'
• A study of 1,718 older adults in North Carolina found that those who went to church at least once a week were only half as likely as non-attenders to have high levels of interleukin-6, a protein involved in a variety of age-related diseases. Researchers suggested that if religious commitment could improve stress control, it would also keep down the production of biological substances that impair the body's ability to fight off disease.