The U.S. Public Health Service does not compille data by religious affiliation or by zip codes that can be correlated with heimeshe communities Howeve, the The Israel Health Ministry has done exactlly those types of studies and reported in 2015 that Chareidim in general, and men in particular, are seven times more likely to be obese than the rest of Israelis. The Ministry noted, “The chareidi lifestyle focuses on the dinner table… At the same time, they don’t engage in any physical exercise.” Other factors cited inluded inter alia, “the absence of nutritional and practical health education in chareidi schools and the much higher rates of poverty of many within this community, which leads to consumption of cheaper, simple carbohydrate-based foods (such as potatoes, pasta, rice, and sugar) combined with high sodium foods and high-fat meat, rather than more expensive complex carbohydrates and protein-rich foods….”
Obviously, Joe knows better than the health experts in the frumcommuniy, along with many promient rabbunim, who have recognized that poor nutrition is among the most critical problems facing the frum tzibur (and one of the mot easily solved).
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