It’s true. And it’s science.

Young people who are active in their religion are more likely to become obese by the time they reach middle age, according to a new study. Participants who go to church at least once a week were found to be about twice as likely to have a higher body mass index than those who attended infrequently or not at all.

Specifically:

Young adults age 20 to 32 who were on the high end of religious involvement were 50% more likely to be obese by the time they hit middle age compared with those in the “none” category. This was true even after researchers adjusted for sex, age, race, education, income and the participants’ body mass index at the start of the study.

The study didn’t give a very satisfying reason as to why this might be. Maybe there is some other correlation not accounted for. For example, people who tend to be religious might also tend to *ahem* live in a certain area of the country known for fried food.

Or maybe there are more calories in those host wafers after all.

Link via Sara, so you can direct all outrage to her.