Religion and Pandemic Weight Gain: A Refuge from the Storm?

J Psychol Theol. 2023 Sep;51(3):392-411. doi: 10.1177/00916471231167225. Epub 2023 May 10.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic was an inherently stressful global crisis that was associated with weight gain for over 40% of the American public. Building on previous research, we draw on recently collected national survey data from the United States to examine the effects of religious attendance (both in-person and virtual), the sense of divine control, and religious/spiritual (R/S) struggles on pandemic weight gain. A series of logistic regression models were conducted. Our findings suggest that divine control and monthly in-person religious attendance were associated with a lower risk of pandemic weight gain, while R/S struggles were associated with a higher risk of weight gain. Our results reveal the complex role that religiosity can play with respect to pandemic weight gain.

Keywords: COVID-19; R/S struggles; attendance; divine control; weight gain.