Jogging With Jesus: Study Links Faith to Increased Exercise Levels

(Oct. 7) -- Loving the lord can help some of America's least active citizens get their sweat on, according to a promising new study on the link between prayer and physical activity.

A UCLA study of African-American women over the age of 60, who get the least activity of any race-sex demographic, concluded that adding Scripture reading and and prayer to workout programs spurred the women to move an extra three miles a week.

More than 95 percent of African-Americans pray on a daily basis, so the strategy makes sense.

"The rationale for this study is our belief that health promotion efforts for African-Americans must take advantage of existing community strengths ... such as members of the same church having a sense of communal identity," Dr. O. Kenrik Duru, the study's lead researcher, said in a statement.

A total of 62 women took part in the study, which was based out of Los Angeles and spanned nearly eight months. Participants were divided into two groups, which each performed 45-minute, instructor-led weekly workouts for the study's first eight weeks. After the workout sessions, one group engaged in Christian Scripture readings and faith-based discussion. The other spent that time listening to talks on topics unrelated to faith.

Monthly meetings persisted for another six months. In a follow-up four months later, those who'd participated in the faith-based interventions were walking an extra 9,883 steps a week, compared with an increase of 2,426 steps among control group members.The first group also saw a larger decrease in resting blood pressure levels.

Of course, social support and a sense of community are well-known catalysts for ongoing fitness success. But linking that support to faith hasn't been the subject of much study.

And although the women involved in this study didn't significantly boost their activity levels, experts say the idea merits further research. The small uptick in exercise also probably generated additional benefits, like improved mood and better digestion.

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"The implementation of an exercise regimen, in itself, represents a significant change in mindset for this particular population," Dr. Jay Milstein, chair of clinical pastoral education at the University of California, Davis Medical Center, told ABC News.

"If this were possible because of the addition of the spiritual element, it would be reasonable to think that this could potentially have other important health benefits because of the enthusiasm that may have been generated."

So be on the lookout for more studies on fealty and fitness in the future.

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