Obesity in the "Body" of Christ

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In my experience, Priests (and to a lesser degree all Religious) regularly receive gifts of food. Most of the time the gifts are baked goods, or foods that are high in fat/calories. In short, it’s mostly junk food. At most social gatherings the food is also garbage, and parishioners tend to be heavier than the general population.

I’m not condemning the moderation of these foods, but it’s fairly obvious that our Religious and the Laity are overweight. And with the shortage of priests, I think it’s wise to encourage them to live healthy lives. Furthermore, it’s spiritually beneficial to be a good steward of one’s body. This is good for the Body of Christ in general. Gluttony is sinful.

Hence, I believe it’s unwise to be giving gifts of junk food to our Priests. We should help to promote healthy habits in our churches, like eating properly and regular exercise. This goes for all Christians!

BTW… I was curious about this… were any of the Saints seriously obese? I cannot think of any.
 
PaulJohns said:
Actually, St. Thomas Aquinas was a pretty big guy.

frjg.multiply.com/journal/item/64/IS_IT_ALL_STRAW_Mk_322-30_28_January_2008_Thomas_Aquinas_Monday
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Haha… yes he was.

Perhaps he was loving the Lord God with all his mind to the detriment of his body. 🙂

Seriously… but even he could have benefited from some more activity. As we know, science has shown that physical health also helps mental health.

Bear in mind that I’m not suggesting that Christians are prepared to run triathlons. That reminds me of a movie. Have you ever seen “Chariots of Fire?”
 
actually, although gluttony is a sin, it’s not as much so with eating to many fatty foods,
there are alot of things that fall under gluttony, not just over eating, but also eating to little or not at all, being TO picky with food, and over indulging in anything, and many more things

but it is actually not very likely that someone would be committing a mortal sin by gluttony, i think the point where it becomes serious would be eating all day long every day excessively,
or eating till your full, throwing that up, and eating again…well i’m sure the list goes on, but anyways,
even though it’s not healthy how you describe these peoples eating habits, it’s also not necessarily the problem(not every time anyways)
one big problem we have here in America with our food is “high fructose corn syrup”, it’s in almost everything you pick up at the store, and it’s the cheapest sugar there is, but it’s a bad sugar, because not only do they have to put in like 4 times more of it to get it to the same sweetness as real sugar, but it’s also very hard to burn off, your body does not digest high fructose corn syrup good at all,
and that is a big reason for the obesity in America, no other countries use high fructose corn syrup…

of course don’t get me wrong, i agree with everything you’ve said, but i though that might be interesting to say to.
 
EmeraldWings said:
actually, although gluttony is a sin, it’s not as much so with eating to many fatty foods,
there are alot of things that fall under gluttony, not just over eating, but also eating to little or not at all, being TO picky with food, and over indulging in anything, and many more things

but it is actually not very likely that someone would be committing a mortal sin by gluttony, i think the point where it becomes serious would be eating all day long every day excessively,
or eating till your full, throwing that up, and eating again…well i’m sure the list goes on, but anyways,
even though it’s not healthy how you describe these peoples eating habits, it’s also not necessarily the problem(not every time anyways)
one big problem we have here in America with our food is “high fructose corn syrup”, it’s in almost everything you pick up at the store, and it’s the cheapest sugar there is, but it’s a bad sugar, because not only do they have to put in like 4 times more of it to get it to the same sweetness as real sugar, but it’s also very hard to burn off, your body does not digest high fructose corn syrup good at all,
and that is a big reason for the obesity in America, no other countries use high fructose corn syrup…

of course don’t get me wrong, i agree with everything you’ve said, but i though that might be interesting to say to.
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Yes… I believe there ought to be a fundamental change in the way most Americans eat. I’m not sure if the food police is the way to go, but the obesity/eating problem doesn’t seem to be improving much. You’re right about the high fructose corn syrup.

BTW… welcome to CAF. I think the name EmeraldWings is very nice.
 
EmeraldWings said:
one big problem we have here in America with our food is “high fructose corn syrup”,
and that is a big reason for the obesity in America, no other countries use high fructose corn syrup…
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This stuff is really bad.

:harp: :heaven:
 
christcnection1 said:
In my experience, Priests (and to a lesser degree all Religious) regularly receive gifts of food. Most of the time the gifts are baked goods, or foods that are high in fat/calories. In short, it’s mostly junk food. At most social gatherings the food is also garbage, and parishioners tend to be heavier than the general population.

I’m not condemning the moderation of these foods, but it’s fairly obvious that our Religious and the Laity are overweight. And with the shortage of priests, I think it’s wise to encourage them to live healthy lives. Furthermore, it’s spiritually beneficial to be a good steward of one’s body. This is good for the Body of Christ in general. Gluttony is sinful.

Hence, I believe it’s unwise to be giving gifts of junk food to our Priests. We should help to promote healthy habits in our churches, like eating properly and regular exercise. This goes for all Christians!

BTW… I was curious about this… were any of the Saints seriously obese? I cannot think of any.
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It was recorded that St. Thomas Aquinas was over 400 lbs in girth. In fact, he was so large that his community had to cut out part of the table so that he could sit down to eat!
 
I think ALL Americans (and increasingly, Europeans) should LEARN portion control. If there is an increase of obesity among the clergy, it is in direct proportion to the increase in our general population.

Fast food is of the devil, IMO. I wonder how many priests must avail themselves of this evil for the sake of convenience. I would venture a guess that this is the root of the problem - not parishioners bringing casseroles or bundt cakes.

In my neck of the woods, most of our priests are not obese. We have many who are from other countries, who, blessedly, appear to be receiving meals from family members or parishioners who cook the foods of their native countries.
 
I recently read something about priest’s health and obesity was one of the growing problems among priests. It comes from a basically sedintary lifestyle and from being invited out to parishioners homes and out to restuarants. Priests who live in large rectories and have a cook may be eating things loaded with fat and sugars because that is what the pastor likes or the cook feels that they need a good hearty meal. Priests who live alone and cook for themselves might not make the best choices of foods or cook highly processed foods for themselves because it is easy. Also you would not believe the amount of empty calorie foods and desserts that parishioners drop off at the rectory so "Father can have a treat.’ If Father didn’t bring some of that food over to the parish office to share the guys in the rectory would weigh a ton.

Fortunatly, in some places, the bishops is making his priests aware of the problem. I know ours is encouraging the preists to take care of their health and their weight. Many of the priists I know have gone on diets and lost a lot of weight. They joined a gym or took up walking or bicycling. They started to refuse dinner invitations or at least limit them to once or twice a week and pastors have insisted that they cooks introduce more low fat and healthy or vegitarian meals.

Aside from food, alcohol is another problem. I am not speaking about problem drinking (although that is a big problem among priests), but the fact that alcoloh is high in calories and a drink or two before dinner, or a few beers at a parishioner’s house can pack on the pounds if done regularly.

Is it sinful? Well just like with any of us it can get to that point. I just think as a nation we really need to look at what we eat, why we eat, and how we eat it. And we need to get our bodies moving more. When I was in Greece a few years ago, with two priests by the way, I was amazed at the food that was served, but the Greek people did not seem to be obese. What I discovered was that they practice (consciously or not) portion control. They eat what they like but they don’t gorge themselves. Also they walk alot. I saw this in Italy also a few years earlier, and I would have thought that given the richness of Italian food that all Italians would be heavy. It comes down to healthy choices and avoiding highly processed and fatty foods. But in our society that is difficult, especially with the advertizing that is done getting us to eat these foods.

So, if you invite a priest over for dinner, especially one with a weight problem, serve veggies for appetizers, cook a really healthy meal, and serve fruit instead of chocolate cake for dessert.
 
St Paul writes to the Romans that he would rather not eat meat if it would cause his brother to be scandalised (in the context, he’s talking about meat sacrificed to idols).

Today’s idol is gluttony. Being able to have cheap meat that tastes of nothing and costs a few cents (a supermarket here in the UK famously advertised a 2p (4c) sausage recently, yuck).

Because we’re producing more animals than the land can support by natural grazing, it takes 10lb of grain to produce 1lb of beef. Also, all the world’s cows produce as much greenhouse gas as all the world’s cars. If the world were to live the way British people live, it would take 3 1/2 planet earths to sustain us. If the world were to live the way Americans live, it would take 5 planets!

We need to learn to limit our diets, not just for our own health, but also for the benefit of the whole Body of Christ, the millions in the developing world who are struggling to survive because of rising food prices, because an American cattle farmer can buy up all the surplus grain for his cows before they’ve had the chance to buy bread to feed their families.

What’s at stake today is even more than scandal, it’s the very lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Go veggie! :yup:
 
DL82 said:
St Paul writes to the Romans that he would rather not eat meat if it would cause his brother to be scandalised (in the context, he’s talking about meat sacrificed to idols).

Today’s idol is gluttony. Being able to have cheap meat that tastes of nothing and costs a few cents (a supermarket here in the UK famously advertised a 2p (4c) sausage recently, yuck).

Because we’re producing more animals than the land can support by natural grazing, it takes 10lb of grain to produce 1lb of beef. Also, all the world’s cows produce as much greenhouse gas as all the world’s cars. If the world were to live the way British people live, it would take 3 1/2 planet earths to sustain us. If the world were to live the way Americans live, it would take 5 planets!

We need to learn to limit our diets, not just for our own health, but also for the benefit of the whole Body of Christ, the millions in the developing world who are struggling to survive because of rising food prices, because an American cattle farmer can buy up all the surplus grain for his cows before they’ve had the chance to buy bread to feed their families.

What’s at stake today is even more than scandal, it’s the very lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Go veggie! :yup:
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Actually, I don’t think obesity is a cause for one going either to heaven or hell. Jesus said it isn’t what goes into a person that condemns him, but what comes out of his mouth through his heart (meaning conscience).
 
peary said:
Actually, I don’t think obesity is a cause for one going either to heaven or hell. Jesus said it isn’t what goes into a person that condemns him, but what comes out of his mouth through his heart (meaning conscience).
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Yes, but that’s the same as what Paul said, that the Kingdom of Heaven is not food and drink but forgiveness and righteousness and joy in the Holy Spirit. Surely it’s not a good idea to be filling ourselves with too much fine food when there are starving people in the world. That’s just selfishness, no?
 
DL82 said:
Yes, but that’s the same as what Paul said, that the Kingdom of Heaven is not food and drink but forgiveness and righteousness and joy in the Holy Spirit. Surely it’s not a good idea to be filling ourselves with too much fine food when there are starving people in the world. That’s just selfishness, no?
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**Obesity isn’t just “filling ourselves with too much fine food.” There is more at stake with the causes of obesity than to just sugar-coat the entire problem with the sin of gluttony. Most obese individuals do not ‘fill’ themselves with too much fine food. In fact, most eat as much as a person who does not have this medical condition.

Is it wrong to have a nice home, car, air conditioning, refrigerator, etc. when there is so much poverty in the world? That’s just selfishness, no?**
 
peary said:
Obesity isn’t just “filling ourselves with too much fine food.” There is more at stake with the causes of obesity than to just sugar-coat the entire problem with the sin of gluttony. Most obese individuals do not ‘fill’ themselves with too much fine food. In fact, most eat as much as a person who does not have this medical condition.

Is it wrong to have a nice home, car, air conditioning, refrigerator, etc. when there is so much poverty in the world? That’s just selfishness, no?
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“Most” obesity in America is not a “medical condition.” Most obesity in America is not from “eatng too much fine food” - it is from eating too much food, too much junk food.
 
mercygate said:
So was St. Anthony of Padua.

I always say, “Never trust a skinny priest.” A skinny priest isn’t being gifted with chocolate chip cookies. He isn’t being invited to dinner . . . IOW: he lacks rapport with his people.

OK: some of you will say that’s a GOOD thing.
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Yes… One has to wonder is St. Anthony would have a different opinion in this day of age.
 
mercygate said:
“Most” obesity in America is not a “medical condition.” Most obesity in America is not from “eatng too much fine food” - it is from eating too much food, too much junk food.
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Well, I guess you’ve got it all figured out, so, there is no point discussing this further with you.
 
peary said:
Well, I guess you’ve got it all figured out, so, there is no point discussing this further with you.
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Sixty percent of the population is 20 percent overweight. That is NOT “medical”. Only 5 percent of obesity is related to genetic factors. Do duh math.
 
Yes, I agree that we all can take steps to living a healthier life and encouraging others to do so as well… the OP’s points are valid… priests can easily be inundated with junk and it would be good for us all to take these things into consideration…

At the same time… as with all things, there’s a flipside, right? Even health food can become an obsession and body image can fall to vanity (just as much a sin as gluttony)…

So, as with all things in this world… it’s SO IMPORTANT to teach, live, and encourage MODERATION IN EVERYTHING. 👍
 
Em_in_FL said:
Yes, I agree that we all can take steps to living a healthier life and encouraging others to do so as well… the OP’s points are valid… priests can easily be inundated with junk and it would be good for us all to take these things into consideration…

At the same time… as with all things, there’s a flipside, right? Even health food can become an obsession and body image can fall to vanity (just as much a sin as gluttony)…

So, as with all things in this world… it’s SO IMPORTANT to teach, live, and encourage MODERATION IN EVERYTHING. 👍
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Shhhhh! You’ve let the cat out of the bag! I can always offset my gluttony by my vanity or my vanity by my sloth!
 
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