Health and obesity and Sin. Morality

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A person, by their on violition and laziness (not including people who have glandular problems, hurt, disability, addiction [this can be helped btw], etc.) doesn’t exercise regularly and becomes fat or obese.

Is this person in mortal sin since it is of grave matter (a person’s health and life), people know its wrong, and by their laziness concedes (key word) to it or doesn’t care?

I believe so. The three criteria are there: grave matter, knowledge that it is bad, and consent to do it.

People need to be good stewards of their bodies because they are a gift from God and if people don’t stay in their healthy weight range and become fat they are abusing the gift God has given you.
 
Wasn’t it St. Thomas Aquinas who was so large (fat?) that his fellows cut a section out of the table where he sat so that he could fit? And that was when calories were a lot harder to come by.
 
I think St Thomas Aquinas had dropsy.

Gluttony

(From Lat. gluttire, to swallow, to gulp down), the excessive indulgence in food and drink. The moral deformity discernible in this vice lies in its defiance of the order postulated by reason, which prescribes necessity as the measure of indulgence in eating and drinking. This deordination, according to the teaching of the Angelic Doctor, may happen in five ways which are set forth in the scholastic verse: “Prae-propere, laute, nimis, ardenter, studiose” or, according to the apt rendering of Father Joseph Rickably: too soon, too expensively, too much, too eagerly, too daintily. Clearly one who uses food or drink in such a way as to injure his health or impair the mental equipment needed for the discharge of his duties, is guilty of the sin of gluttony. It is incontrovertible that to eat or drink for the mere pleasure of the experience, and for that exclusively, is likewise to commit the sin of gluttony. Such a temper of soul is equivalently the direct and positive shutting out of that reference to our last end which must be found, at least implicitly, in all our actions. At the same time it must be noted that there is no obligation to formerly and explicitly have before one’s mind a motive which will immediately relate our actions to God. It is enough that such an intention should be implied in the apprehension of the thing as lawful with a consequent virtual submission to Almighty God. Gluttony is in general a venial sin in so far forth as it is an undue indulgence in a thing which is in itself neither good nor bad. Of course it is obvious that a different estimate would have to be given of one so wedded to the pleasures of the table as to absolutely and without qualification live merely to eat and drink, so minded as to be of the number of those, described by the Apostle St. Paul, “whose god is their belly” (Philippians 3:19). Such a one would be guilty of mortal sin. Likewise a person who, by excesses in eating and drinking, would have greatly impaired his health, or unfitted himself for duties for the performance of which he has a grave obligation, would be justly chargeable with mortal sin.
newadvent.org/cathen/06590a.htm
 
You can be skinny and still guilty of gluttony. Body shape has nothing to do with the sin.

Let me ask you this? Who is more guilty of gluttony? The person who doesn’t exercise, eats regular portions and end up overweight due to not having time to go exercise regularly, or the person who exercises and eats a ton of food to make up for what they burn off?

As with all things, I think moderation is the key.
 
Fox said:
A person, by their on violition and laziness (not including people who have glandular problems, hurt, disability, addiction [this can be helped btw], etc.) doesn’t exercise regularly and becomes fat or obese.

Is this person in mortal sin since it is of grave matter (a person’s health and life), people know its wrong, and by their laziness concedes (key word) to it or doesn’t care?

I believe so. The three criteria are there: grave matter, knowledge that it is bad, and consent to do it.

People need to be good stewards of their bodies because they are a gift from God and if people don’t stay in their healthy weight range and become fat they are abusing the gift God has given you.
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Is this just another excuse to degrade another who is already down on themselves and degraded by society? Sounds like it to me. People come in all shapes & sizes and colors…some are even predisposed to being overweight, also, there are many reasons that people are overweight many of them psychological; for instance rape victims and people who have been molested & raped when they were children tend to become overweight or anorexic…other people have to take care of their children and their elderly parents whom in many cases are quite ill along with some very heavy financial responsibilities…often times these people have no energy left nor time to exercise or even to eat right, they are depressed, anxious & overwhelmed… Are you going to ask everyone who is overweight or obese if they have a medical reason for it? And what if they haven’t been diagnosded yet? Then what?..Is the greater sin Not accepting someone as they are? Do you have the gift to read hearts & thus determine in your own mind if they are in sin? I know that there were many saints who prefered to look physically repulsive in the sight of people so they would be rejected by people and not have to deal with any temptations of the flesh nor put up with the lustful looks & unwanted attention from men and belong to God entirely. Sorry, maybe I’m a jerk and maybe I’m reading way too much into your post…and maybe I’m just judging you but your post comes across to me as perhaps you are placing the body in higher regard than the soul and you are totally repulsed by overweight/obese people and you are trying to justify your repulsion. On the other end of the spectrum at what point do you cross the line where you are glorifying the human body instead of God?
 
certainly we fatties are sinning, why don’t we all post our weight, height and body mass index and CAFers can vote on which of us are going to hell.
do we really need to repeat this exceedingly uncharitable discussion on a regular basis? why not just review all the past threads and spare us the replay
 
If you have gone to Confession and confessed to gluttony and/or sloth, you are absolved from it. Period. You may still have to live with the effects of your sin (obesity) but you are not living in a state of sin. Just as someone who confesses to a vastectomy or sterlization is not expected to have it reversed.

People obssessed with fitness are probably just as guilty of the sin of vanity, arrogance and pride especially when it leads to bragging about their athletic builds or nice bodies.

And excerise can lead to all sorts of orthopaedic, joint and skin problems.

Yes, we do have to take care of our bodies because they are tabernacles of the Holy Spirit. But when it gets to the point we are more obsessed with taking care of our physical bodies instead of our souls, then that is sinful because we are not putting God first.
 
I have a picture from the 1870s of my great-great grandmother and her seven sons. I don’t fall that far off the tree. You would immediately be able to identify my great grandfather and me.

They were big men with barrel chests as were so many in the 19th century.

I went into boot camp in 1971 at 215 lbs. I was 19 and like so many of the Irish, I had not hit my full growth spurt. As memory serves, I was 6’1" and had not yet attained my full growth of 6’2". I came out of boot camp at 190 lbs. and looked like a concentration camp survivor.

I am of German and Irish ancestry. I am barrel chested and there is no way I will ever be some svelt athlete. I am a big man. I come from a family of big men. A year ago, I had gastro-intestinal problems and had to go for tests. The tech made a really snotty comment to me that he was surprised that I could heave my 270 lbs without his help.

I’ve attained my full growth and I am comfortable being a big man. I don’t want to look like a POW from a concentration camp. Been there, done that.

Gluttony? No. I am a product of my ancestry which includes high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. I haen’t touched anything sweet in over 4 years since I was diagnosed with diabetes. Diabetes being on both sides of the family.

I am not going to follow the diet of someone who is a gracile type and who can eat that which a bird eats and say that I am a glutton. I am a robutst type (let me introduce a little physical anthropology into this). I am a big man because I am big. I don’t pig out. I don’t eat sweets.

I had not finished growing when I went into boot camp. I was a late bloomer. My nineteen year old self looked like I had been in a concentration camp such that when my mother saw me after I got off the plane, she broke into tears.

Some of us will never, ever be svelt athletes. I’m not even going to try. I’m 6’2, 270 lbs and my weight has been consistent since the mid - 1980s.

This is the same kind of taurine foecal matter that I endured when I was in high school as a late bloomer. I am no glutton but I will never, ever be a jock. I am who I am and I am content with it. I may not meet your height/weight ratios, BMI , cardio, whatever…

I can go back to medieval manuscripts and show you my body type from my ancestors. This one-size-fits-all mentality is way off key and, frankly, disgusts me.

In the words of Princess Quinevere in the Broadway play Camelot, "When was the last time you jousted with “humilite”?
 
There was an visiting Englishwoman in a pub restaurant who was sitting at a table near mine and she asked her husband, as he looked down at his salmon baked in pastry, ‘…are you eating that because you need it or because you want it?’ Tough one to answer I thought, as I stretched out tired legs in front of the open fire and munched on my chicken pieces and fries and pint of guinness.
 
Well, I am obese but I don’t exercise because I simply don’t have the motivation to do so or am too depressed to do so. I suffer from major depression and sometimes I overeat as a form of comforting myself as well. I don’t commit the sin of gluttony though. Overeating is not automatically gluttony. Gluttony is indulging in food so much that it perhaps becomes an idol to you. And I honestly don’t believe that I am in a state of mortal sin for not taking care of my body the way I should. As I said, I have depression and that reduces my culpability. Well, at least I would think that it does.
 
There’s a type of behaviour that also falls into the category of gluttony called, I think ‘gluttony of delicacy’ or some such. This is where people might not overeat but might still be obsessed enough about food to ‘make a god of their bellies’.

Spending an excessive amount of time planning meals, watching cooking shows, actually cooking, or food shopping, for example. Assuming that it isn’t part of your job to do these things - that you’re not a professional chef, for example.

Sending food back numerous times in restaurants because it isn’t ‘just so’, or otherwise being excessively dissapointed when a dish doesn’t turn out perfect.

The virtue of temperance means that we should be prepared to sometimes lower our standards and accept ‘less than’.

And I agree with the previous poster that there are all sorts of psychological factors that may lessen culpability - not least simple addiction to food. Since fatty and sugary food DO alter your body and brain chemistry to quite an extraordinary extent, food can probably be considered a drug like any other.
 
The BIG question is does God love us whether we are skinny or fat? I find this thread quite amusing. God is LOVE and God loves everyone regardless of waist size.

Peace
 
I stay at a nice weight by exercising and eating healthy foods. It’s not ridiculously difficult but does require dedication. When I eat out, which is most of the time, I try to order fish or a lean meat for the main course and vegetables as sides. Allow yourself a “day off”. Mine is Saturday, usually. I am still decently young, but if I need to intensify the program with age, I will do so.
 
DocSoos said:
The BIG question is does God love us whether we are skinny or fat? I find this thread quite amusing. God is LOVE and God loves everyone regardless of waist size.

Peace
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Yeah but our bodies ARE temples of the Holy Spirit - I’m sure He doesn’t love us polluting His temples with junk food, neglecting them through lack of exercise and so on.

It’s not about waist size, but about neglecting our health.
 
I believe we need to be compassinate those folks who have difficulty with eating problems as we would with any individual facing any kind of moral challenge in life. And yes God does love everyone, not matter what their size, shape or thngs they have done inter life. I don’t think anyone can question that. However, I also agree with the earlier comment that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Would you choose to house the Holy Spirit in less that that best vessel you could provide for it?

Eating disorders are costly not only to ourselves but also to our community at large. Obesity has been shown to increase the risk of diabetes, arthritis, heart disease and cancer. This can cut short our work life and bring additional strife on our families.

It only makes sense in most cases that if we are healthy we are better able to serve our communites, church and other than if we have to focus on ourselves.

I think we need to try and help people who are facing these problems, but in the same breath realize this is one area we can help ourselves. There are so many things that that happen to people’s health we have so little control over, i.e. mental retardation, birth defects, various cancers that affect everyone. I think we owe it to ourselves not to abuse the health that God has given us. It is such a precious thing. We often don’t truly realize how much of a blessing until we lose it. For the most part over indulgence is something we can all do something about, and spending a few minutes a day in light exercise or eating 3 or 4 donuts a day on a work break would seem to be not to much to ask.
 
I am slim/lean/athletic and I have gluttonous tendencies. I do try hard to take good care of my body (I am in good general health, eat healthy foods, exercise on a very regular basis, rarely drink, etc), but I’m not perfect. It’s really embarrassing to admit, but I think I am going to have to bring my gluttonous ways up in confession. :o Usually, I can control it, but sometimes, it just gets out of hand and I end up eating enormous portions of everything I crave at once. I never feel good about it afterwards. 😊

I don’t think gluttony has as much to do with weight as some people believe. People become overweight for a variety of reasons and not all of them are self-indulgent. I’ve met plenty of skinny gluttons, too, who shamelessly indulge in gluttony knowing they probably won’t get fat.

As said before, God loves us all regardless of size. I don’t think people indulging in gluttony are in the state of mortal sin unless they do it on a consistant basis with no desire to change. I’m not saying I am 100% right on this - I don’t know for sure - only God can judge each individual and his or her situation/life 🙂
 
Holly3278 said:
Well, I am obese but I don’t exercise because I simply don’t have the motivation to do so or am too depressed to do so. I suffer from major depression and sometimes I overeat as a form of comforting myself as well. I don’t commit the sin of gluttony though. Overeating is not automatically gluttony. Gluttony is indulging in food so much that it perhaps becomes an idol to you. And I honestly don’t believe that I am in a state of mortal sin for not taking care of my body the way I should. As I said, I have depression and that reduces my culpability. Well, at least I would think that it does.
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Holly:

I am so sorry that you suffer from depression. I know from experience that when you are depressed, it’s difficult to get motivated to exercise or do anything else.

I suffered from depression and an eating disorder for 12 years, frequently turning to food for comfort. Food quickly became my best friend and my worst enemy, resulting in wild mood swings and weight fluctuations. One of the best things I did for my depression was to start walking; it was simple exercise that didn’t require any special skills and just a minimum of motivation. Once I began walking, my moods improved drastically, and my weight stabilized. That was 18 years ago, and my daily walk is something I look forward to and enjoy. If you live in a cold climate, go to your local mall and walk there; we have many in our community who do that.

If you haven’t seen your doctor, please do so. You want to make sure that you don’t have a thyroid problem or another physical problem that needs to be addressed.

Hang in there! I see from your profile that you are only 26 years old. You have your whole life ahead of you. Don’t let depression and weight issues keep you from really living.

God Bless!
 
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