Just how healthy is the typical pastor?

(Original release date: August 1, 2003) In the biblical book of I Corinthians, the Apostle Paul uses the athletic imagery of running a race to get his point across to readers.  New research among America’s clergy suggests it’s a good thing it’s only imagery Paul is using – if they were required to run an actual foot race, it’s doubtful some of them would finish.

Research conducted among a representative sample of 568 senior pastors of Protestant churches shows that the typical pastor is not in terribly good shape physically – they average under seven hours of sleep a night, are on average more than 30 pounds overweight, and often suffer from stress, skipped meals, unhealthy foods, and sleeping problems.

The research was conducted by Ellison Research of Phoenix, Arizona. 

In the study, 71% of all ministers admitted to being overweight, by an average of 32.1 pounds.  One-third of all ministers were overweight by at least 25 pounds, including 15% who were overweight by 50 pounds or more, which can be a dangerous health condition.

Weight problems probably should not be a surprise, given the eating habits of pastors.  Two-thirds of all pastors skip a meal at least one day a week, including 39% who skip meals three or more days a week. 

When they are eating, they’re often not eating the right things.  Eighty-three percent said at least once a week they eat foods they know they shouldn’t because they’re unhealthy, including 41% who do this three or more days a week.  And the vast majority (88%) eat fast food at least one day a week, including one-third who eat fast food three or more days a week.

Not only do these eating habits suggest weight troubles, but they suggest digestive troubles, as well.  Four out of ten ministers (39%) reported digestive problems at least once a week.  For 14%, their digestive problems are chronic, occurring at least three days a week.

Pastors also often are not getting exercise.  Only half said they get the recommended minimum, which is 30 minutes of exercise at least three days a week.  Twenty-eight percent said they don’t typically get any exercise at all. 

There are other problems, as well.  Almost nine out of ten ministers (87%) said they get less sleep than they need at least once a week, and almost half (47%) are getting less sleep than they need three or more days a week.

More than half have trouble sleeping at least once a week (46%), and one out of five have trouble sleeping three or more nights every week. 

The sleep deprivation is real, and not just their perception.  The average minister gets 6.8 hours of sleep per night.  Just 16% regularly get the recommendation of eight hours or more per night.  On the other hand, 37% get fewer than seven hours of sleep each night.

With all of these unhealthy life patterns and health complaints, it’s probably surprising that not more ministers complained of physical problems or symptoms related to stress.  Fifty-two percent experience physical symptoms of stress at least once a week, and nearly one out of four (23%) are subjected to this three or more times a week.

Ron Sellers, president of Ellison Research, noted that the youngest ministers are the ones with the least healthy lifestyle.  “The youngest ministers are the heaviest, the most likely to skip meals, the most likely to eat unhealthy foods, the least likely to get exercise, the most likely to go without sufficient sleep, the least likely to take vitamins, the most likely to eat fast food, and the most likely to report problems sleeping,” Sellers noted.  “It might be argued that these are eager young ministers out trying to change the world, or at least to build their careers.  But it’s tragic that they apparently are sacrificing their own health for these purposes,” he continued.

The study was conducted by Ellison Research, a marketing research company located in Phoenix, Arizona. Although Ellison Research has numerous clients, this study was funded and conducted independently by the company. The sample of 568 Protestant ministers included only those who are actively leading churches. The study’s total sample is accurate to within ±4.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level with a 50% response distribution. The study was conducted in all 50 states, using a representative sample of pastors from all Protestant denominations. Respondents’ geography, church size, and denomination were carefully tracked to ensure appropriate representation and accuracy.

How many days in a typical week do pastors experience the following…

Measure
All Pastors
Small Church
Medium Church
Large Church
Age
<45
Age
45 – 59
Age 60+
Get less sleep than they need:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
• none
13
17
11
8
4
11
27
• one or two
40
40
36
42
33
48
46
• three or more
47
43
53
50
63
41
27
Take vitamins or nutritional supplements of any kind:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
• none
31
27
32
43
47
31
12
• one or two
6
5
10
3
8
6
4
• three or more
63
68
58
54
45
63
84
Take prescription medication:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
• none
50
48
47
58
68
50
31
• one or two
2
2
3
2
1
2
2
• three or more
48
50
50
40
31
48
67
Eat fast food:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
• none
12
13
11
7
8
9
20
• one or two
55
60
45
56
48
55
62
• three or more
33
27
44
37
44
36
18
Have trouble sleeping:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
• none
46
44
51
46
40
47
51
• one or two
34
37
28
36
37
36
27
• three or more
20
19
21
18
23
17
22
Have any physical symptoms/problems related to stress:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
• none
48
51
46
41
45
42
64
• one or two
29
29
29
31
29
34
20
• three or more
23
20
25
28
26
24
16
Have digestive troubles:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
• none
61
64
56
61
59
60
66
• one or two
25
23
31
22
25
27
19
• three or more
14
13
13
17
16
13
15
Work out or exercise for 30 minutes or more:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
• none
28
30
29
23
35
28
23
• one or two
22
23
17
27
28
25
13
• three or more
50
47
54
50
37
47
64
Skip any meals:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
• none
34
38
28
29
29
30
47
• one or two
27
27
29
27
28
31
18
• three or more
39
35
43
44
43
39
35
Drink any alcoholic beverages:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
• none
85
88
78
84
86
86
81
• one or two
8
7
13
7
9
7
11
• three or more
7
5
9
9
5
7
8
Eat foods you know you shouldn’t because they’re unhealthy:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
• none
17
14
16
18
7
16
28
• one or two
42
46
40
34
39
41
58
• three or more
41
40
44
48
54
43
14

Sleep habits of pastors…

Hours of Sleep per Night
All Pastors
Small Church
Medium Church
Large Church
Age
<45
Age
45 – 59
Age 60+
Under six hours
7%
6%
9%
7%
8%
7%
6%
6 to 6.9 hours
30
25
32
39
32
28
31
7 to 7.9 hours
44
47
42
40
43
43
44
8 hours or more
16
18
13
12
13
18
16
Average hours per night
6.8
6.9
6.7
6.7
6.8
6.9
6.9

Pastors’ weight issues…

Weight
All Pastors
Small Church
Medium Church
Large Church
Age
<45
Age
45 – 59
Age 60+
Are they currently (in their own estimation):
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
• underweight
5%
6%
6%
1%
5%
3%
9%
• just about right
24
22
19
33
30
21
28
• overweight
71
71
75
66
65
76
63
Pounds overweight (among those who are):
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
• 1 to 14 pounds overweight
22
17
25
35
19
20
33
• 15 to 24 pounds overweight
31
29
31
34
27
30
36
• 25 to 49 pounds overweight
24
27
24
15
28
24
23
• 50 pounds or more overweight
21
26
18
15
25
24
7
• average number of pounds overweight
32.1
36.0
28.5
27.3
38.9
33.4
22.2

 

Numbers may not add to exactly 100% due to rounding. "Don't know" responses are not shown.  The survey included all Protestant denominations, but the groups shown separately in the table above were the only ones with large-enough subsamples to examine separately.