Response to Bharmal et al. 'The association of religiosity with overweight/obese body mass index among Asian Indian immigrants in California'

摘要

Bharmal et al. are to be commended for studying how religiosity may impact health measures (Bharmal et al., 2013), but we were surprised at one of the speculative and factually incorrect statements in their article's discussion. The authors rightly note that highly religious Muslims often abstain from alcohol, but then claim that Hindus and Sikhs drink heavily during religious and social gatherings. We are curious as to a citation for this statement, or if it is a presentation of original research. It contradicts both foundational Hindu teachings proscribing meat and alcohol during religious gatherings as well as actual temple practice (see, for example, the rental policy at two major Hindu temples: http://www.sunnyvale-hindutemple. org/pdf/rentaLapplication.pdf and http://livermoretemple.org/hints/ content/html/Assembly_hall_Rental_Agreement.pdf, both retrieved July 23, 2013.)