Dr. Feelgood
intellectual nerd
Some years ago I read an account of a minister's wife who lost considerable weight because, in her words, "Being fat was not pleasing to the Lord." Although the U.S. may seem rabidly religious to many of our European colleagues, our trend throughout most of the twentieth century has been towards a more secular society. But at the same time, a number of "health" (i.e., weight loss) magazines* have adopted a sort of revivalist approach, featuring stories of (caloric) sin, repentence, and spiritual struggle, culminating in thinness as a sort of secular redemption. There are group weight-loss programs in which backsliders are reproved and encouraged to repent and confess their sins. I cannot help but wonder if, in an increasingly secular age, weight loss has become, not merely a business, but a secular religion? What do you think?
*Okay, so I read them for the "before" pictures. Your point?
*Okay, so I read them for the "before" pictures. Your point?
