Religious involvement and health-related behaviors among Black Seventh-Day Adventists in Canada.
BACKGROUND
Most studies that involve Black Seventh-Day Adventists (SDAs) have been conducted in the United States. We sought to examine the association between religious involvement and lifestyle practices among Black SDAs in Canada.


METHODS
A convenience sample of 509 Black SDA church members 18 years and older completed a self-administered questionnaire, assessing religious involvement and seven lifestyle practices promoted by the SDA church: diet, physical activity, water intake, exposure to sunlight, alcohol use, caffeine and tobacco use, and rest.


RESULTS
Compliance with lifestyle practices ranged from a low of 10% meeting fitness guidelines to a high of 99% abstaining from tobacco products. Religious involvement and lifestyle were positively related (rs = .11, p < .05). Multivariate analyses indicated that private religious practice (β = .16, p =.003), importance of the health principles (β = .17, p = .003), and acceptance of health principles (β = .65, p = .00001) significantly predicted the number of behaviors practiced.


CONCLUSIONS
Greater religious involvement is associated with positive lifestyle practices but is not an independent predictor of lifestyle practices for Black Canadian SDAs.
Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA mmckenzie1@llu.edu.
Monica M
MM
McKenzie
Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA.
Naomi N
NN
Modeste
Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA.
Helen Hopp
HH
Marshak
The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Colwick
C
Wilson
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000208:ethnology; D044383:Black People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002110:Caffeine; D002170:Canada; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D060766:Drinking Water; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style / Q000208:ethnology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D033303:Protestantism; D012907:Smoking / Q000208:ethnology; D013472:Sunlight; D055815:Young Adult
D060766:Drinking Water; D002110:Caffeine
Adventists; Black SDAs; health practices; religiosity