The Reason That The Amish Obesity Rate Is Nearly 10 Times Lower Than The American Average May Shock You

Though most of us are ignorant as to their religious beliefs or fail to understand the motivation behind their traditions and day-to-day life, there’s actually valuable knowledge to be learned from this religious group. For one, there’s evidence to suggest that one specific community in Pennsylvania has herd immunity from Covid. Not only that, but their obesity rate is nearly 10 times lower than the American average. The reasons as to why may shock you.

The Lack of Modern Conveniences Doesn’t Stop Them

The overwhelming majority of Americans have a deep-rooted and almost intrinsic connection to their technological devices. We also think of most household appliances as basic “necessities.” Most of us can live without a smartwatch or a virtual reality headset, but we consider our fridges, washers, dryers, and microwaves to be a basic human right. We’d be reluctant to go without our phones and social media feeds for an hour, let alone an entire day.

Most of us would also call ourselves privileged. We drive cars to work, have gym memberships, get weekly manicures, have social groups we spend time with, and an endless number of different pastimes or distractions to consume our time. We live in the most developed country in the world, a country that only continues its upward trajectory of technological advancement in fields like healthcare and business. Many of us are college-educated and have mortgages. We can find a Starbucks within five minutes of our house or an urgent care center that’s open 24 hours a day.

The Amish live alongside us in the same country, and yet they have none of these things. Their renouncement of modern technology and conveniences is perhaps what they’re most known for, yet it’s just one aspect of their way of life. It’s for this reason specifically that we might call them strange, misguided, ill-informed, uneducated, or provincial. What person, let alone thousands of people, would look around at every contemporary development we have and choose to forgo them?

Only 4% of the Amish population is estimated to have moderate obesity.

But their lack of modern conveniences hasn’t led to the decimation of their population; far from it, in fact. The Amish, on average, have nuclear families with both parents and families of five children or more. Their retention rate is 85%, with the large majority of that growth coming from inside their own population. Their faith is at the center of their lives, as are their homes, families, farms, and communities. 

Physical Exertion Is Crucial

The first swathes of the Amish population settled in America in the mid-18th century, and since that time, little has changed about their daily way of life. While most of us are thinking about getting the newest iPhone or news media subscription in our email inbox, the Amish continue to build their own homes and barns, harvest their own crops, and teach their children while worshiping weekly in their homes with the other families of their community. The majority of the Amish do not participate in Social Security and military service or buy insurance.

Due to the fundamental demands of their lifestyle, they are also far from sedentary and don’t have access to overly processed foods or foods heavily laden with preservatives or seed oils. It’s for these reasons that the Amish, as one health and science journalist describes it, beat “their genetic destiny.” Many of us might ascribe being overweight to an “obesity gene,” and while the tendency to be overweight may be impacted by our genetic composition, the Amish are essentially proving that it’s possible to beat those odds through diet and physical fitness.

A study from the University of Maryland investigated the specific gene connected to weight gain and obesity and found that there was a prevalence of this gene in the Amish. But the individuals who were overweight within the Amish community often performed little to no physical activity. Other individuals with the gene were able to keep weight gain at bay and maintain a healthy weight even with their diet purely through burning upwards of a thousand calories a day.

The Amish enjoy rich and filling food just as much as the rest of us – their diet is laden with fats and different types of meat – but they manage to stave off weight gain through sheer physical fitness. One study found that Amish men walk an estimated 18,000 steps per day, while Amish women take in about 14,000. Their diet is filled with calories, but those calories are used for energy from sun up to sun down. 

Amish men walk an estimated 18,000 steps per day, while Amish women take in about 14,000.

Consider their average workday: Women are gardening, cleaning, harvesting and running after children, while the menfolk are caring for animals, tilling fields, planting, and constructing barns and other buildings. And most of that activity might happen before lunch. Their meals are filling and plentiful, but they’re made from scratch with fresh, homegrown ingredients. 

Healthier in Every Way

The rising rate of obesity is perhaps the biggest public health concern of our time. But if we analyze this issue from a historical standpoint, it’s a relatively modern problem that we’ve contrived for ourselves. Our ancestors did not struggle with excess body fat or too much weight in the mid-section. Only with the encouragement of sedentary lifestyles and the over-dependence on processed foods have we begun to struggle with this health concern and its disastrous side effects – consequences which include heart disease, the biggest killer of Americans today.

The rate of obesity in America currently sits at almost 42%. Only 4% of the Amish population is estimated to have a Body Mass Index above 30, the marker for moderate obesity. Even as the average American gets bigger, the average Amish individual won’t struggle with this problem. Even today, they are still living as our ancestors did – and they’re better for it.

Their notable figures and community leaders don’t dominate our news cycles in the political sphere, nor are they subjected to the biases of the media or the increasing dangers of living in urban settings. It’s not just in physical health that they have us beat – they’re likely healthier emotionally and mentally as well. Their faith, families, and communities are at the center of their lives. They thrive on grueling, arduous physical labor, resting on Sundays, and raising their children with strong convictions, convictions which have only increased their population. Their lifestyle is one of extreme sacrifice and dedicated work ethic, and though some might look down on them for not having a 60” flatscreen or even a car, they don’t have the modern problems which plague us either.

Closing Thoughts

We might look at these insulated communities with apprehension or suspicion, but there is so much we can learn from them. We can study their formidable work ethic as a means for keeping our bodies and minds healthy, and we can look to their core values and principles as an antidote to today’s cultural problems as well.

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