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Health Education Research, Vol. 3, No. 3, 305-316, 1988
© 1988 Oxford University Press

research-article

A report on church site weight control

Barbara L. Wells1,3,3, Judy D. DePue5, Thomas M. Lasater1,4 and Richard A. Carleton2

1Department of Community Health, Brown University
2Department of Medicine, Brown University
3The Health and Religion Project, Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island Pawtucket, RI 02860
4Division of Health Education, Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island Pawtucket, RI 02860
5High Blood Pressure/Diabetes Treatment Program, Division of Behavioral Medicine, The Miriam Hospital Providence, RI 02906, USA

Correspondence to: 3To whom reprint requests should be addressed

Religious organizations offer several attributes as sites for health behavior change and maintenance. This paper describes a program implemented in randomly selected churches to address the cardiovascular disease risk factor of excess weight. The program was designed for delivery by trained and certified lay volunteers to fellow members of their respective churches. Of 131 registrants in 16 weight control courses from 13 churches, a total of 705 pounds were lost. The mean weight change among completions was –6.62 pounds. Twelve months later, participants (n = 66) reported an average gain of 2.59 pounds, yielding a mean loss of 4.19 pounds since starting the course. A gain of 0.64 pounds was measured in the same 12 month time period among a matched, random sample of non-participant church members. The report addresses other pertinent issues, including self-report weight change reliability, maintenance sessions effectiveness, and evaluation process nonrespondents. There is evidence that the church site weight control program attracted persons who have not previously participated in organized weight control efforts. The data suggest such programs may provide persons with an effective opportunity for weight management.


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