Going to Church Can Make You Fat

Well, I learned today why the people who live in my current location in the Buckle of the Bible Belt are so noticeably fatter than the people I see when I visit my former location, that being the Seattle area.

The Dallas/Fort Worth Buckle of the Bible Belt zone has one of America's highest per capita number of churches and church goers.

Seattle and its environs has one of America's lowest per capita number churches and church goers.

In a study conducted by the Northwestern University School of Medicine around 2,500 men and women over 18 were tracked; filtered by age, sex, education, income and body mass index.

And if they were churchgoers or not.

The study found that regular church goers are 50% more likely to be obese by middle age.

The researchers offer no theory as to why church goers are 50% more likely go have a weight problem than non-church goers.

I'm thinking an 11th Commandment may need to be added to the original 10.

Thou shall not Overeat or covet your neighbor's donut.

The Christian God does opine, via the Bible, regarding gluttony. Gluttony is a fancy way to say "overeat."

Proverbs 23:20-21 warns, “Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.”

Proverbs 28:7 declares, “He who keeps the law is a discerning son, but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father.” 

Proverbs 23:2 proclaims, “Put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.

That seems a tad drastic, putting a knife to your throat if you are an over eater.