should be taken with a very large pinch of salt

How about this research for a little bit of controversy! According to a study people who take part in religious gatherings at least once weekly when they are young are more probable to be obese than those who do not.

Professor Matthew J. Feinstein from Northwestern University in Chicago along with his colleagues conducted his study by looking at almost 2,500 volunteers who took part in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study. 

By collecting the data at years 2 and 20 of the decades long study when the volunteers were between the ages of 20 and 32 they said they were able to come up with a correlation between the frequency of participation in religious services and the likelihood of cardiovascular risk factors as well as subclinical cardiovascular disease.

The researchers claim that the participation in the religious events was linked to a higher body mass as well as a greater likelihood of being female or black which in fact highlights why this research should be taken with a very large pinch of salt. Since the American black community is more likely to be religious as well as more likely to be obese this research could be seriously skewed.

The study authors said that they did adjust the figures for demographics but since practically every single gospel choir is full of black overweight women coming up with these conclusions hardly shows that somehow religious attendance and going to church could make you overweight.

The research which was presented at the American Heart Associations Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism/Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention 2011 Scientific Sessions and if anything it shows that in certain sections of society being overweight or obese is more socially acceptable and is even considered the norm.

Imagine a black gospel choir without any buxom and overweight ladies; it just would not be the same!