Belly Bulge - Deadly For Adults

A new study out of Chicago confirms an old truth.

Much extra weight can mean much less life!The new study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, is the first to analyze waistsize and deaths for people in three body mass index (BMI) categories: they include normal, overweight, and obese. In all three groups, waist size was linked to higher risk in a number of serious health issues. The bottom line of one of the largest studies to ever examine the dangers of abdominal fat revealed that those with the biggest waistlines have twice the risk of dying compared to those with smaller belt sizes.

Bulging bellies are a problem for most Americans older than 50. But the problem is steadily creeping downward to those in the younger categories as well, due to a fat and sugar filled American diet and an overall lack of meaningful exercise. It's estimated that more thanhalf of older men, and more than 70 percent of older women, have bigger waistlines than recommended. And the growth rate of waistlines overall has expanded by about an inch per decade since the 1960s.

There is no doubt to anyone who opens their eyes on a beach, in a food store, restaurant, or even in their own church that America’s people have grown larger and softer, even as their economy has shrunken. Many are cutting back in spending to weather the economic pressures, but apparently not at the dinner table! And with the serious health issues which arise due to the increasing poundage comes the inevitable, and ever increasing, medical bills that are passed along to all of us - both the thick and thin.

But what about the question of this issue from a biblical perspective? Is this at all a matter of concern in the Scriptures and therefore something meaning to God in any way? Or as God, is it only the spiritual condition of the heart that matters since that determines every man’s eternal destiny and because of what is penned in John 4:24? “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." And is the physical body of much ultimate value since God’s reference to making man in His own image in Genesis 1:27 clearly refers to things other than human anatomy?

When scanning biblical truth it becomes apparent that the physical body is indeed valuable and of concern to God even though it comes in at second place when analyzed along side the condition of the human soul. That basic truth is spelled out best in 1Timothy 4:7-9 where Paul writes, “But reject profane and old wives' fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.”

But the Scriptures also repeatedly point out the vital part played by the physical body in the spiritual realm. A great example is revealed in Paul’s first letter to the struggling young church at Corinth. He forcefully reminds the early believers there, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

Later in the same letter, in chapter six, the apostle expands on this same theme of how the body is to be used and considered. Verse 18 begins, ”Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.”

Then three chapters later Paul relates how the body is connected to Christian service and even the heavenly rewards that are yet future. Verse 27 keys in on his own self-directed efforts to ensure complete control over the acts and actions of his own physical unit. He begins with a sports-related analogy starting in verse 24 - hoping that some of his readers will already know or get the general answer. ”Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”

An omniscient and omnipotent God designed an amazing human body to house a miraculous and eternal soul. That alone makes physical issues important enough to pay proper attention to. A poorly functioning physical frame can negatively impact the ability of any Christian to fully serve the Lord with the unique gifts given him or her at the moment of redemption.

But beyond the special care that helps a body function better and longer comes one more crucial biblical principle. When adhered to, it also adds physical vitality and greater ability to glorify the God who created all to fellowship with with Him for eternity through the salvation found only in Jesus Christ. This great truth came through the special revelation and legendary wisdom via Proverbs 3:5-8. Often the first two verses are highlighted, preached on, and memorized while the following two are given little or no attention.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones.” (Proverbs 3:5-8)

Bill Breckenridge