long time lurker, first time poster...so be gentle *grin*
alan osmond has just posted a piece written by his brother merril, trying to defend the mormons as people have got the wrtong idea about mormons due to the recent BBC documentary. one of the claims is that mormons are the healthiest people in the world...
For example, look at Boyd K. Packer. The perfect picture of health! Also, Spencer Kimball looked like he was ready to run the New York marathon in 1984!
I wonder how they surmise they are healthier? Because they don't drink coffee, tea or alcohol? I think it may become true if a prophet comes along and says sugar is no longer allowed.
Tomorrow they might be told something different, and then they'll think that. :)
It's funny. My doctor told me that I ought to have a glass of red wine daily to improve my good cholesterol numbers. She said sure you can get these benefits from other places, but drinking wine is the fun way and red wine has so many health benefits! Don't go wild -- just a glass or two a day.
Oh yeah, Mormons are more healthy by not drinking red wine. Or tea. :/
One of my co-workers often makes fun of a mormon who previously worked here who weighed about 300 lbs. He talks about how he went on a business trip with the guy, and he refused to get some coffee to help stay awake on the drive, but instead went into the convenience store and bought a handful of candy bars.
I haven't met a healthy Mormon yet. Almost every Mormon I know is obese or morbidly obese. The one's who arent usually have such awful skin disturbances that I *know* their bodies are not healthy. I have been given several Mormon cookbooks now from various wards etc, not one of them contains recipes I would feed my family and we aren't even that snobby about food... Awful, highly processed, nutritionally deficient diets seem par for the course with Mormons here in the Southeast.
Bwah-hahahahahahahaha! They replace beer with ice cream and coffee with Jell-O, and real food with enchilada casserole, washing it down with whole cream milk. Yeah, real healthy.
I don't think I've ever had any Mormon friends who were into fitness, and all the Sunday and weekly activities crowd out things like hiking and bicycling. A Mormon father is left only with scout activities and EQ basketball to keep "fit."
The Mormon's I work with are very much into physical fitness. They bike, jog, run marathons, but so do a lot of non-mo's I know. I don't believe Mormons are more healthy than anyone else however. I work in the Health field. I see alot of really sick mormons. Never did a study on it, but just sayin', I think it's about the same as the general population. Most Americans don't eat well or exercise enough.
I was always really into cycling and football (i.e., soccer). My bishop requested that I stop because too many times I would say, No, I can't attend that meeting because I do 30 miles on that day. Or, No, can't go to that because I'm whistling two games that afternoon. Seriously, he told me to stop. So that is my perspective. And I never encountered any Mormons doing it with me.
In Utah there are all kinds of inactive to only moderately active Mormons who do all kinds of stuff.
Every mormon woman I know is on a diet plan and can not follow it. The get-to-gethers Friday/Sat evenings would be much healthier if everyone had a beer or glass of wine rather then
Most of the Mormons I know are very careful about getting enough exercise and watching portions. But nutrition is a whole other ballgame . . . have you ever checked out their cookbooks? The dessert section is the largest, main dishes are mostly casseroles with a base of cream of whatever soup and loaded with (highly salted) vegetables from a can.
Seriously, the top ingredients in any given recipe are going to be mayonnaise, cream of mushroom/chicken/whatever soup, cushed potato chips or corn flakes, sour cream or heavy whipping cream, and canned vegetables, preferably corn.
Heavy duty salt, sugar, starch and fat. Kind of cancels out the no coffee, tea or alcohol thing. And all the execise in the world isn't going to make any difference if your body is starved for the right vitamins, minerals and combinations of carbs, proteins and fats.
Please tell me you work in a gym. I can't think of where else that might be true. Some are very careful about getting enough exercise. Some are careful about portion control, and often not the same "some" who get enough exercise.
However, the Pat Bagley cartoon stereotype of a Mormon legislator in Utah as being a fat, large-lipped white guy with a half-untucked white shirt and a 64 ounce soda in hand is so funny because it is true often enough that everyone recognizes it.
Most Mormons I know don't have the time or energy to go to the gym. Not that the non-Mormons are anything to write home about in that respect (self included)
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/05/2012 04:50PM by Brother Of Jerry.
loving these responses, just another tidbit to add to your delight, merril also claims they have the lowest incidence of, among other things, venereal diseases!!
A look at the tour schedule suggests the article was prompted by a challenge from Yorkshireman or a resident of Nottingham or its environs. Plain-speaking northerners/east midlanders.
Sometimes we look a little silly ourselves using antodotal evidence to say something isn’t true at all. There was a study of California High Priests compared to the rest of the population that showed the Mormons were healthier. If I find it, I’ll post it.
I don't understand the arguments being made here. A person's weight doesn't give you insight into their health. Some very healthy people are super obese, like reagan chastain of Dances With Fat fame. She works out like 20 hours a week and is a professional athlete, her health is great, and she is still fat. There are a lot of thin people who eat crap and never exercise. The only thing you can tell about a person from their weight *is their weight*.
Also: even if mormons were healthier, would that make them right? Of course not. It has virtually nothing to do with the documentary or its criticisms of church doctrine.
I personally don't understand why mental health hasn't entered into this discussion. Healthy people don't need antidepressants at such an astronomical rate, and they don't kill themselves so much either. I can't count the number of dead-eyed worker bee dudes, and SAHM ladies, I have seen since moving here. people clearly aren't happy. It is an important part of health.
Drinking tea (even non-sugared types) is unhealthy and evil yet coca-cola, Dr Pepper is tolerated/OK? Drinking coffee (even those without the cream and sugar and high calorie stuff) is unhealthy yet sugary drinks, coca-cola, Dr Pepper is tolerated/OK? Alcohol (even in moderation) is unhealthy and evil yet nobody bats an eyelid at high rates of anti-depressant use? TBMs have got their priorities wrong.
great responses... as far as i know all the osmonds and their extended families are still mormon, would be great just to get one to see the light, the whole pack of cards would go tumbling down then...
i do remember donny talking about his son jeremy at one time had left home and was...shock horror... maybe even indulging in pre-marital s*x donny got him back into the fold by introducing him to a nice mormon girl back when he and marie had their talk show
raptor jesus, thanks for those stats... so the mormons aren't even the healthiest in the usofa never mind the rest of the world, wait, what world??ha
From my personal observations of the Happy Valley crowd (and nearly two decades in TSCC): - They do not seem to be any healthier. Many are sleep-deprived due to the lifestyle, especially the women. Most are very stressed out. There's always guilt and pressure to do more, so getting only a few hours of sleep per night is seen as virtuous. - To compensate for not getting booze or coffee, they tank up on sodas and energy drinks. My MIL would probably rather die than drink coffee, but she guzzles large amounts of Diet Coke each day. She looks terrible and has had chronic health issues -- just like most Mormons I know. - To save money, they eat carb-based diets that feature lots of processed foods, starches, and sugar (as other posters have noted). - Mormon women have trouble spending money on themselves (unless it's a boob job to keep hubby happy). Most would never take out a gym membership and have no time to do cardio or strength training at home. - This is just an opinion, but there seems to be a cultural reliance on allopathic medicine in Utah. Doctors are authority figures right up there with Church leaders, so most folks are on prescriptions, taking OTC meds often, and reliant on drugs & surgeries. - For women, one of the only times they get any "downtime" is while in bed recovering from surgery. RS used to sound like a rerun of bad "House" episodes with all the medical crises and surgeries discussed. Every week, there was a sign-up sheet to bring dinner to the 3 or 4 sisters who'd had surgeries that week. It wasn't a "nearly-dead" ward, either.
Dunno how I did it the first time! Plus it's just too easy to get lost in Merrill's many delusions. Here he is, hocking Dr. Tootybear's pellets on YouTube: