Religious activities often leave people not only spiritually full, but also physically full, and a new study reveals a link to religion and obesity. The study reports that religious young adults are 50 percent more likely to be obese by middle age.

The study, which was conducted at Northwestern University in Illinois, tracked the religious involvement and obesity levels of 2,433 men and women for 18 years and was recently presented at the American Heart Association Conference in Atlanta. The study noted the correlation, but did not suggest why religious involvement is linked to obese individuals. Matthew Feinstein, the study’s lead investigator and a fourth-year Northwestern medical student, said in a news release that church social activities might be related.

“It’s possible that getting together once a week and associating good works and happiness with eating unhealthy foods could lead to the development of habits that are associated with greater body weight and obesity,” Feinstein said. Calorie-packed church functions are typical, said Tania Charette, media coordinator of the Physical Activity Nutrition and Obesity program in the Utah Department of Health. In her own congregation, Charette said food is usually involved. “Actually, there is an activity going on this evening and they are asking for pies,” Charette said. Nonetheless, Charette said she was surprised at the results because religiosity is typically linked to health benefits.

Merrill Christensen, professor of nutritional science, said religious people sometimes follow health codes, such as the Word of Wisdom, and adherence to such codes is linked to positive health benefits including longer life expectancy and lower levels of smoking. Although Christensen said church activities rarely take place without food, he warned the study is a new finding and it has not been peer reviewed. Feinstein said in the news release that despite the results, congregations could use the religious social network to help each other lose weight.

“The organizations already have groups of people getting together and infrastructures in place that could be leveraged to initiate programs that prevent people from becoming obese and treat existing obesity,” Feinstein said. Charette likewise said support is essential in losing or maintaining weight, and said religious networks could serve as such. “If you are going to take food, then put a little bit more effort instead of just taking the traditional high fat, high sugar things that we see,” Charette said. “Try to take more fruits and vegetables or something healthier.”