Re: superstitious religion may increase mortality in humans

Dan Clemmensen (Dan@Clemmensen.ShireNet.com)
Thu, 10 Jun 1999 19:53:36 -0400

Spike Jones wrote:
[in response to Doug's msg re adventist health]
> Ive always been suspicious of these studies Doug, for I can imagine several
> mechanisms other than diet that would account for longevity in 7th Day Adventists,
> such as very low smoking rates, low alcohol consumption, and one that
> gets a lot less attention: SDA was, until relatively recently, pasty white.
> Anglos are known to have longer life spans than non-white.
>
> Here is a speculation: in the next 50-100 yrs, the average 7th Day Adventist
> will become darker skinned. This will cause the much advertised
> life span bonus to shrink, compared to the average population, and may
> eventually even go negative.
>
I'm not sure your are correct. True, the sect(?) started in the U.S., and religion is highly correlated with family, but there are still a bunch of non-white adventists.
My dad was stationed in Fiji during and after world war II. He mentioned that ships could be loaded and unloaded on Sunday even though this was the Christian Sabbath, because the (Fijian) Adventists treated it as an ordinary workday.