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Originally posted by barbie86:

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Originally posted by medicalbreakthrough:
This is just silly nonsense - as other have pointed out, those who are religious are more likely to lead healthy lives (better eating, less alcohol etc), and potentially thats why they live longer. It has nothing to do with faith.

I'm not sure I would agree with this one. I have noticed no correlation at all within the people I mix with between eating healthily and drinking little alcohol and being religious, and eating unhealthily and drinking lots of alcohol and not being religious.

People bend 'studies' to suit the point they are trying to make or prove. As another poster said, what of all the thousands of Catholics in Africa who die of AIDS because their religion deems contraception a sin? Where these people not considered?

You would need controls in order for such a study to work eg take 20 people who aren't relgious and 20 people who are, and ensure all have similar BMI's, cholesterol levels, BP readings, diets, alcohol intake etc. THEN if you came back and said to me that the religious people were still more likely to live longer I might be impressed.