Are overweight people gluttons?

No

by James Weeks

There was no reason to even think about My answer to this question. I resoundingly spoke the word "NO" immediately after reading it. The question, as stated, includes ALL overweight people. If the question had been phrased differently, such as, "Are some" or "Are several", then My answer may have been "yes". This question includes all overweight people. There should be zero response on the "yes" side of this question. It would be outrageous to believe that all overweight people could be considered gluttons! A glutton by definition, is someone who eats voraciously or to excess. I know several people that fulfill this definition. I am sure many others do as well. I would never go as far as to call them a glutton! Even I, not being overweight, could be considered a glutton on Thanksgiving Day, by definition, since I can hardly remove Myself from the table after indulging!

Are overweight people gluttons? I will debate this question from a logical standpoint, and with personal experiences. I will not include the millions of medical research pages that are available to all of us. I know large men that would not be large if it wasn't for the great American pastime of beer, chicken wings, and sports on any given sunday. Does this make them a glutton? In some eyes, yes it does. If they didn't indulge they would not be overweight. I know large women that eat less than the family cat and still remain large. Are they gluttons? Of course not! All overweight people are not gluttons. Some are according to society. Does anyone know the ratio of gluttons to non-gluttons? Of course not! We would have to research each overweight individuals daily habits of eating and exercising. We would have to know the physical conditions of each individual. We would have to know the mental conditions of each individual.

I am in decent physical condition. I am not overweight. If I see an obese person, I do not come to the conclusion that he or she is a glutton. Anyone that would even ponder that type of response, without the knowledge to support it, is cruel. Are there people in Our world that eat to the extent of being a glutton? By definition, absolutely! We have seen the 600 pound people that have to be removed from their homes by crane to go to the hospital or morgue. There is however, according to medical research, an underlying physcological reason for this behavior in most cases.

If those of us that are not overweight lived under a different set of personal problems than those we have now, would we still be fit? If we had different medical conditions than we have now, would we still be fit? Who knows? I could not manage problems that some others can. Others could not manage problems which I deal with daily. We are all different. We all deal with life differently. If I had a different set of personal problems in My life, I might use food to cope with those problems. As it is, I smoke to deal with mine. What do You do to deal with Yours? The idea of placing a label like glutton on ANY overweight person, at the very least, is hateful. Plain and simple. You do not know their problems, whether mental or physical, yet You have decided they must be a glutton. The bottom line, at least in My opinion, is that no person has the right to call another human being a glutton! You have no idea of what that persons life situations are. If You are honest with Yourself, You can find a fault of Your own. Now imagine a society that pounces on that fault of Yours. A society of millions that place a name on that fault. Now imagine walking down the street or going to work everyday and knowing that those people are saying to themselves and each other whatever that name is you are labeled with. They are saying, "how can he/she live like that"? Would that just be more fuel to support the underlying problem which causes your fault already? Would that just add to the low self esteem You have about Your problem?

Everyone knows that as children we can all be cruel. We are supposed to outgrow that eventually. Unfortunately, in Our society, many of us don't. The question of whether overweight people are gluttons or not, is not for Us to decide. If we were kind instead of cruel, we could help that person live a healthier life.

"There, but for the grace of God, go I".

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