Obese females (Pixabay)
In my decades as a natural health professional, I dealt with many people who were overweight.
In addition to looking at systemic and nutritional issues, my primary advice was always, “Eat less.”
I told people that the devices that people use to enter their intake and exercise did not work. I based that on published research.
Notice the following has the same basic conclusion:
You can’t outrun a bad diet. Food — not lack of exercise — fuels obesity, study finds
July 24, 2025
Back in the 1800s, obesity was almost nonexistent in the United States. Over the last century, it’s become common here and in other industrialized nations, though it remains rare among people who live more traditional lifestyles, such as the Hadza hunter-gatherers of Tanzania.
So what’s changed? One common explanation is that as societies have developed, they’ve also become more sedentary, and people have gotten less active. …
But in a major new study published in the journal PNAS, Pontzer and an international team of collaborators found that’s not the case. They compared the daily total calorie burn for people from 34 different countries and cultures around the world. The people involved ran the spectrum from hunter-gatherers and farming populations with low obesity rates, to people in more sedentary jobs in places like Europe and the U.S., where obesity is widespread.
“Surprisingly, what we find is that actually, the total calories burned per day is really similar across these populations, even though the lifestyle and the activity levels are really different,” says Pontzer.
And that finding offers strong evidence that diet — not a lack of physical activity — is the major driver of weight gain and obesity in our modern world.
“This does sort of really fly in the face of what a lot of us anecdotally assumed was driving a lot of the weight gain and obesity today,” says Deirdre Tobias, an obesity and nutritional epidemiologist at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Tobias was not involved in the new research. https://www.npr.org/2025/07/24/nx-s1-5477662/diet-exercise-obesity-nutrition
What you eat and how much you eat is a major factor in weight (yes, there are also genetic and hormonal factors).
In the Book of Genesis we read:
29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Genesis 1:29-31)
The Bible also later teaches:
2 … eat what is good (Isaiah 55:2)
Related to food, we put out the following sermon: Let’s Talk About Food.
Many years ago, the Continuing Church of God put out a video, about concerns with eating too much, on our YouTube channel called Bible New Prophecy. Here is a link to our video: Eating Right, Eating Too Much, and Prophecy.
But yes, losing weight can be very, very difficult. But real Christians should believe the following:
13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)
With prayer and proper determination, breaking away from being obese can happen.
The Bible teaches:
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
8 It will be health to your flesh,
And strength to your bones. (Proverbs 3:5-8)
32 Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:32)
Do not let fear stop you from moving ahead.
Take proper action (cf. Galatians 6:9-10; Revelation 3:7-13; Zephaniah 2:1-3).
Interested in a spiritual ‘five second’ rule?
Tell yourself and pray:
I will act on the truth and not put it off because I do not feel like it. Jesus help me.
Most people can quietly pray that in 5 or so seconds.
And physically if it will help, you can count backwards from five or use some other technique to motivate you to do what is right–including with your diet. But then pray for God’s assistance.
You can eat less–take it one day at a time consistent Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:34, which when you are trying to lose weight may also mean one meal or snack desire at a time.
We also have a related video on changing your life. Here is a link to the video: ‘How to Change Your Life in 5 Seconds’.
Of course, some things take longer than 5 seconds. But asking Jesus to help you not overeat is something everyone can do.
While it will not help your weight much, exercising is good for you and your innate immune system. Related to exercise, the Continuing Church of God (CCOG) put out the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel: The Plain Truth About Exercise.
Related to food, we put out the following video: Let’s Talk About Food.
Related to Christian health, we put out the following video: Let’s Talk About Health.
We also have the following obesity related video:
In March 2024, the BBC reported that research was pointed to over a billion people being obese worldwide. Professor Majid Ezzati, of Imperial College London, said “In many of these island nations it comes down to the availability of healthy food versus unhealthy food. In some cases there have been aggressive marketing campaigns promoting unhealthy foods, while the cost and availability of healthier food can be more problematic.” Does the Bible teach to eat what is good? While millions are dying from hunger, over a billion are obese. What are diseases that the obese are more susceptible to? Since the obese tend to die sooner than others, should obesity be accepted or encouraged? What did Bill Maher state about the ‘body positive movement’? Does the Bible condemn gluttony (overeating) and obesity? Did Jesus say to ‘come as you are’ or to ‘repent and believe’? What are some ways to help lose weight? Is losing weight very difficult? Can Jesus help? If you fail, should you give up? What about the five second method of changing? Should the obese eat less? If that does not work, what should they do? What about exercise? Steve Dupuie and Dr. Thiel address these issues.
Here is a link to the video: Is Obesity OK with Scripture?
What about the GLP and other weight loss drugs?
Well, they have potentially bad side effects, plus once you go on them IF YOU EVER GO OFF THEM, then you may be worse off weight and appearance wise than before you ever tried them (see ‘Natural News’ raises more concern about Ozempic and ‘the rebound effect and Toxins: The invisible assault).
If you want to lose weight, you need to eat less.
And yes, I know that in modern society that is difficult to do.
But Christians are to have and learn self-control (2 Peter 1:6).
Yet, if you are obese that is something, with God’s help, you need to work on.
Some items of possibly related interest may include:
Christian Health Matters Should Christians be concerned about their health? Does the Bible give any food and health guidelines? Here are links to two related sermons: Let’s Talk About Food and Let’s Talk About Health.
Obesity, processed foods, health risks, and the Bible Does the Bible warn about the consequences of being obese? Is overeating dangerous? Is gluttony condemned? What diseases are associated with eating too much refined foods? Two related video would be Is Obesity OK with Scripture? and Eating Right, Eating Too Much, and Prophecy.
Should Christians Exercise? What does the Bible teach? What are some of the benefits and risks of exercise? Here is a link to a related video: The Plain Truth About Exercise.
Ten Simple Rules that Lead to Health Herbert Armstrong gives his opinions on this.