This article has some important things to consider. Perhaps us pastor types should look seriously at the article. Thanks Jeff for being a instrument of conviction.
Duke study finds pastors outweigh parishioners — in an unhealthy way
Findings: Pastors are more likely to be obese than non-clergy.
Posted: September 13, 2010 - 12:02am
It could be an 11th commandment is needed for the nation’s clergy: Thou shalt exercise and eat right.
Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell, a researcher with Duke University’s Center for Health Policy, may be the one who carves it into stone.
Proeschold-Bell was the lead author of a newly released study that found pastors experience chronic diseases at higher rates than the people around them.
“I’m not surprised that pastors are afflicted by the same weight problems the rest of Americans have, but that they are so much worse, that gives me a moment of pause,” she said
How much worse?
Pastors are 10 percent more likely to be obese than non-clergy, the study found. They also suffer from high blood pressure and asthma at a 4 percent higher rate and are 3 percent more prone to suffering from diabetes and arthritis.
The numbers are alarming to health care professionals, Proeschold-Bell said.
“It’s enough to slow you down, take years off your life,” she said. “It’s expensive to treat … and all those [conditions] lead to other diseases.”
Proeschold-Bell and several Northeast Florida preachers say the average minister’s job description is a perfect storm of factors contributing to this unhealthy trend.
First, there are the long, stressful hours spent preparing sermons, visiting the sick and dying, counseling troubled couples and waging difficult capital campaigns. Add to that weddings, funerals and their own family issues at home: It’s a recipe for little sleep, bad eating choices and little or no time for exercise.
Staffing cuts made at many churches due to the recession have further isolated pastors, forcing them to work longer days, said the Rev. Paul Hooker, executive presbyter and stated clerk of the Presbytery of St. Augustine, which overseas 65 Northeast Florida congregations.
“By the time they get home they’re exhausted and they’re hungry, so they eat a late meal and go to bed — it’s a formula for all kinds of other problems,” he said.
Self-care seen as 'selfish'
Hooker speaks from experience. Aware that his work was slowly eroding his health, he began an exercise and diet plan last year that he described simply as “eat less, walk more.”
The plan, which evolved into running and cycling, helped him trim from 277 pounds to 185 since May 2009.
But it isn’t easy to lose weight in the church world. In addition to the challenge of finding time to work out, time at church often means exposure to meetings and potlucks known for their fatty, calorie-filled dishes and snacks.
And then there are the expectations of the congregation— namely that ministers be physically and emotionally available, no matter the time of day.
“When it comes down to their needs, they want their pastor to be there for them whatever time of day it happens to be,” Proeschold-Bell said.
Pastors themselves share in that attitude, she said, reporting to the Duke researchers that self-care “feels selfish to them” because “they are there to take care of other people.”
Setting boundaries
The health challenges pastors face are only beginning to come to light, Proeschold-Bell said, adding she’s aware of only a handful of denominations and church programs aimed at dealing with it.
Hooker said the board that handles his denomination’s health care programs is certainly aware, due to the impact on insurance premiums.
The need for regular exercise and preventive care is being discussed, but not often at the congregational level, Hooker said.
That’s why ministers must take the initiative in this issue, said the Rev. Denis O’Shaughnessy, pastor at Mary Queen of Heaven Catholic Church in Jacksonville.
“It’s incumbent on me to stay as healthy as I can to serve as long as I can,” O’Shaughnessy said.
The 71-year-old priest does that by running regularly, even competing in marathons.
O’Shaughnessy said his time spent running is anything but selfish. It energizes his mind and body for long days at the parish and at hospitals.
It’s also when he does some of his best thinking.
“It’s a great time to pray and meditate when you’re running, because you’re out there and your mind is clear as a bell.”
Plus it’s a biblical imperative, he said.
“We are called as children of God to take care of the temples of the Holy Spirit — our bodies.”
jeff.brumley@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4310
