Is being Fat a sin?

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If it is not down to a medical condition. I am (praise be to God) standard weight and size and* I don’t think *IT IS SINFUL TO BE FAT. It is the state of your soul that matters.

That said if it is sinful to be greedy and to eat too much, which it is, then surely it is sinful for some people to be fat.
 
Gluttony and sloth are both sins and are the leading cause of fatness, at least in the U.S. We are also morally obligated to take good care of our bodies.

I wouldn’t quite say that being fat is a sin per se, but it is usually the result of sinfulness.
 
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Benedictus:
Gluttony and sloth are both sins and are the leading cause of fatness, at least in the U.S. We are also morally obligated to take good care of our bodies.

I wouldn’t quite say that being fat is a sin per se, but it is usually the result of sinfulness.
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Yep, I’d agree with that analysis
 
I am fat. I am sinful for a lot of reasons, but I don’t believe that is one of them. If you know anything about fatness, you know there are alot of causes, poor diet being one, or contributing factor in others. My food and calorie intake were monitored closely for a drug trial I participated in (about an unrelated medical condition) and I consume calories and fat grams well within guidelines of diet prescribed by my doctor. Like other states or conditions of life that affect outward appearances, being fat gives people ammunition to make judgements about things which are none of their business. You might just as well ask
Is being suntanned sinful?
Is having blue eyes evidence of sin if both parents have brown eyes?
Is being pregnant a sin, especially if I know the person is not married?
Is having a tattoo sinful?

What is the obsession on these forums with hypothetical questions about sin? Either ask a straight question about points of Catholic doctrine and moral teaching, or take your question about personal sin to a priest in the confessional. Please stop speculating on the sins of others–we are quite able to conjure up enough guild on our own without requiring your (name removed by moderator)ut.

How about a fatwah against fat? Ask Cest.
 
I am fat too, I think. I gained 50 lbs. when I was pregnant with my daughter and have yet to lose about 15 of it. I ate a lot when I was pregnant but, not nearly as much as the pregnancy diet reccommended.

Does that make me sinful too? When people look at me and judge me for being fat, I think THAT should be a sin. That is not “doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.” I know lots of people who gained weight when they were preg and haven’t lost it all back, and I also know others who didn’t gain any wieght with their babies, or even lost wieght.
Those women who constantly ask how much weight I’ve gained/lost, and say “wow”. Who do they think THEY are to look down their noses at me, just because they had severe morning sickness and threw everything up and I didn’t have it so bad!!

My husband is sick to death of me talking about how fat I am, not being confident enough, being afraid of hurting him because I’m so heavy, etcetera.

I lost 45 lbs. a couple years ago, I wieghed 139 lbs, and I still felt like the same “fat” person. I never could feel good about myself, and I think that’s because people had treated me so bad all my life that I never learned how to have a good self image.
 
Sinfulness can be expiated by going to Reconciliation. Since being fat can’t be solved by a simple trip to the confessional (if only it were that easy!!), I would suggest that it is not sinful.
 
John of Woking:
If it is not down to a medical condition. I am (praise be to God) standard weight and size and* I don’t think *IT IS SINFUL TO BE FAT. It is the state of your soul that matters.

That said if it is sinful to be greedy and to eat too much, which it is, then surely it is sinful for some people to be fat.
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According to your analogy… then if it is sinful to attempt suicide and to eat too little or nothing at all, then it is sinful to be thin. :rolleyes:
 
Yes, it is.
Sometimes, people can’t help it though. Certain medications can cause weight gain, but if one is fat because they are eating too much, yes.
Though, I wonder. Some people have so much trouble with food, they get their stomach stapled or bypassed. What’s going on with that??? Perhaps there are some people who have the oppositie of anorexia and they are, still, sick in one way.
 
John of Woking:
If it is not down to a medical condition. I am (praise be to God) standard weight and size and* I don’t think *IT IS SINFUL TO BE FAT. It is the state of your soul that matters.

That said if it is sinful to be greedy and to eat too much, which it is, then surely it is sinful for some people to be fat.
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Well, it seems you have already answered your own question. Obesity per se is not a sin, but gluttony is.

Gerry 🙂
 
John of Woking:
If it is not down to a medical condition. I am (praise be to God) standard weight and size and* I don’t think *IT IS SINFUL TO BE FAT. It is the state of your soul that matters.

That said if it is sinful to be greedy and to eat too much, which it is, then surely it is sinful for some people to be fat.
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It is not sinful to be fat. Being fat is just a condition. Many of the saints were fat. The sin is in getting to that condition. You sin by being glutinous.

Are you making a destinction between the purple fat and the black fat in your post? I really do not understand what your view is, you are offering both sides.
 
It is not a sin to be fat ~ simply being obese is not a moral issue.
But as others have mentioned, Gluttony and sloth are sins that can lead to being fat.
Then, if someone stays that way out of indifference ~ THEN ~ being fat can be considered a sin. Because it is a sin against the body.
I am not fat, indeed I am slender and muscular. But to me if I allow myself to be idle and get soft, I feel like I am sinning against my body which is a temple of the Holy Spirit.
I think good wine is a gift from God, just like good food. But abusing alcohol is a sin against your body. If you abuse alcohol your body will suffer. If you do nothing to discontinue the abuse, your body will suffer and - it is a sin like behaviour induced obesity.
 
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JMJ_Pinoy:
According to your analogy… then if it is sinful to attempt suicide and to eat too little or nothing at all, then it is sinful to be thin. :rolleyes:
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What? Gluttony is sinful. starving yourself to death is sinful. Being Fat is not sinful. look at what i said. I said I don’t think it is sinful. :banghead:
 
Hi all,
I am a person who has weighed as much as 250 and recently went down to 205. I used the Atkins plan and after a year have put on most of the weight after stopping the low carb routine. I weigh 240 again but I feel great because most of the weight is pretty firm as I also lifted weights.
However, I do believe being fat is a sin. Sin means missing the mark, and surely we are missing the mark and not living our lives to the fullest by being fat.
I have been lazy, I have been irrespnsible, and have been tempted to eat and drink one too many pieces of cake and a beer. My fault. I don’t feel terrible so my poor choices are now obvious.
Yet, every day is a new day and here we go again. The Lord loves us all weak or strong. IF we take three steps tpward eating right he will carry us to what is ultimately for our good.
 
After writing this I returned to the induction phase of the Atkins’ plan and lost 10 lbs in 5 days.
 
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Ortega:
I have been lazy, I have been irrespnsible, and have been tempted to eat and drink one too many pieces of cake and a beer. My fault. I don’t feel terrible so my poor choices are now obvious.
Yet, every day is a new day and here we go again. The Lord loves us all weak or strong. IF we take three steps tpward eating right he will carry us to what is ultimately for our good.
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I think it’s sinful to mix cake and beer. Pizza and beer, fine. But cake and beer? Yuck!! 🙂

Mike
 
I have had a weight problem since I was 5 years old. I have been on many, many diets both under a doctor’s care and on my own. It was about 3 years ago that I started a low carb diet and was able to lose a lot of weight. I did put some back on but still persevere. I am at a stage of life (50’s) where every day it becomes more difficult to lose weight.

So, am I a sinner? In my opinion, I am not. I was never told by any priest that I was too fat and that I should lose weight because my overeating was a sin.

If you see photos Mother Angelica at different times you can see that she has gained a lot of weight. Do you think she was sneaking down to the kitchen in the middle of the night and porking out?

There are many reasons for being overweight. Let’s worry about drug dealers and such.
 
Well, sometimes it can’t be helped, but if it can it is what I would consider atleast not very good. Here is my reasoning:

Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. You need to take care of it. Not just in eating well, but exersice and getting enough sleep, etc, etc…speaking of getting sleep, I need to go to bed…lol:yawn: I had a long week at school…I need the weekend…😃
Good Night to all!:sleep:
 
I like any question that leads me to think about the word of God.

I’ve seen programs on tv, documentaries, about people who have undergone voluntary semi-starvation diets. One guy went to Africa to document the life style of the people who live on some form of vegetation that keeps them alive, but is less than tasty and makes their stomachs hurt. He lost about 45 pounds in one month, and then got off that diet regimen.

And, then, there was a guy who sat on a pole for a month and didn’t eat anything. He, too, lost about 45 pounds in one month.

Now, rewind quickly to Jesus who fasted in the desert for 40 days, the outcome of which is recorded that He was hungry. We don’t have any more detail than that He fasted. We must presume that this was not like the modern Islamic (semitic) fasting of Ramadan, which is a daytime fast only. With this thin logic which you may also describe as circumstantial evidence, we must conclude that Jesus must have lost at least 50 pounds. Do we visualize that Jesus was somewhat thinner after the experience, or deeply emaciated? He must have lost both some fat and some lean. do we conclude that Jesus started out as exceeding a healthy BMI or the ‘desired’ range on the Metropolitan LIfe Insurance weight tables? Might Jesus Himself been a bit fat at the outset?

Is it a bit judgmental to make that summary and snap judgment about someone who is overweight that they are gluttonous?

Would it not be more insightful to ask whether having amply feasted themselves, that they were equally concerned that the needy and hungry were cared for, as well? And, is that not the designated concern of us all, of any stature?
 
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