Essay:Christians and Obesity

A recent study has shown that while Christians tend to healthier in some respects, "there’s a strong association between the rate of Christianity in a state and the prevalence of residents being overweight in that state. Each blue dot is a state, and you can see the trend on the graph as a tilt from lower left to upper right. Less Christian states have fewer obese residents."

This study gives some insight into the above average obesity of the very religious. In 2007 the obesity rates in the US were 74.1% while people identifying with atheism in the United States is only 4%

From a medical perspective, an obese person has accumulated enough body fat that it can have a negative effect on their health. If a person's weight is at least 20% higher than it should be, he/she is generally considered obese. If your Body Mass Index (BMI) is between 25 and 29.9 you are considered overweight. If your BMI is 30 or over you are considered obese. The term obese can also used in a more general way to indicate someone who is overweight.

Two of the major risk factors for becoming obese according to the Mayo Clinic are poor dietary choices and inactivity, thus given the above cited study research, it appears as if Christians are more prone to becoming obese than non-religious individuals. The Bible declares that gluttony is a sin. However, the Bible declares the physical body of Christians to be temples of the Holy Spirit it is very surprising that many very religious Christians would leave obese lives.

Picture of an overweight Jerry Falwell
A picture taken in shows Jerry Falwell with excess had excess weight in his abdominal area. A picture of a significantly overweight Falwell can be found. In 2007, Falwell had health problems related to blockage on his arteries and subsequently died of cardiac arrrest. In addition, medical science research indicates that excess weight impairs brain function. Given the harmful health effects of being overweight in terms of cardiovascular health and brain function, it is unfortunate that preventative medicine was not used in greater measure in terms of his health. Falwell's inattention to diligently implementing the recommendations of medical science is not entirely surprising given his vehement advocacy of anti-evolutionary pseudoscience. There have been a number of notable Christians who have been overweight.

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Picture of an overweight Christian Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh - Fat smoker