Faith, Health, and Obesity

With Christmas here and the new year coming, the time seems right to reflect on faith, health, and obesity. We won’t dwell on stories that pick on Santa Claus and his obesity, such as this one in the Huffington Post. Instead, we’ll turn to a reflection on how the Christian faith tradition might address obesity.

You can find some dubious stuff out there, like Pat Robertson’s “Age-Defying Diet Shakes” or christianweightloss.com, which promises the “Biblical secret to losing weight permanently.” Hint: a promise of permanent weight loss is what the FTC calls a red flag for weight loss fraud.

In a piece written for the Westminster Spire, ConscienHealth founder Ted Kyle offers a distinctly different perspective, based on love and respect for every precious child of God, large and small.

Click here to read Kyle’s complete article, “A Christian Response to Obesity.”

Santa Claus image by Thomas Nast