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Obesity is out of control
1. Today 55 percent of the adult American public is overweight. One-quarter of the population was overweight from 1960 to 1980. Then suddenly, between 1980 and 1991, it jumped to one-third of the population. That is a 32 percent increase in obesity in just ten years.
2. The cost of obesity is 50 billion dollars a year.
  1. "Excess body mass is related to premature death from all illnesses up the age of 75." [Barbara and Kenneth Murray, A Nation Out of Shape] "300,000 people a year die due to weight complications, which include heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and stroke." [Alfred Lubrano, Fat Tax]
  2. The United States spends approximately $40 billion per year on diet foods, weight-loss books, and exercise videos, according to Hamer and Copeland. "The only thing growing faster than the national waisline in the bottom line of the weight-control industry."
  3. Non-communicable diseases - cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc. - killed 58.8 percent of the world's population in 1998. "Most illness, in rich countries, is caused by non-communicable diseases - 81 percent compared to 39.8 percent of illness in poor and middle-income countries." [Elizabeth Neus, Gannett News Service.]
  4. The average male adult has 53 percent more body fat than what is ideal.
  5. The average female adult has 50 percent more body fat than what is ideal.
3. What is the problem? For the last twenty years we have been the participants in a massive experiment.
  1. High carbohydrate, low fat diet.
  2. Well meaning effort trying to reduce the body fat in America, know that it would lower the cost of health care.
  3. Supermarkets cooperate. The isles are filled with carbohydrates.
4. Let's look at some facts:
  1. Macro nutrients.
    1. Carbohydrates
    2. Protein
    3. Fat
  2. Carbohydrates.
    1. Carbohydrates are turned into glycogen and stored in the muscle and brain. 300 to 400 grams of carbohydrates can be stored in the muscle. Another 60 to 90 grams are used by the brain.
    2. Anything over this amount is stored in the body as fat.
  3. Glycemix indes.
    1. The speed which carbohydrates enter the blood stream.
    2. The faster they enter the blood stream, the higher the glycemix index.
    3. Three types of carbohydrates: glucose, fructose, galactose.
    4. Fiber and fat slow down the rate carbohydrates enter the blood stream.
God's answer to the problem
1. Original diet: Fruits, Grains, and Nuts. Genesis 1:29
  1. Man gets the carbohydrates needed from fruits.
    1. High in fiber and released into the blood stream slowly.
    2. Vegetables were added by God later. They are a good source of carbohydrates.
  2. From grains come carbohydrates and protein.
    1. Complete carbohydrates, such as oatmeal, lentils, peas, beans, etc.
    2. Soy is an excellent source of protein.
    3. Don't over eat!
  3. From nuts come protein and fat.
    1. Almonds
    2. Some nuts are much higher in fat than others.
    3. Don't over eat!
  4. The need to keep the macro-nutrients in balance. 40 percent of our calories should come from carbohydrates, 40 percent from protein and 30 percent from fat.
2. What about meat as a source of food?
  1. Given at the time of the flood. Genesis 9:3-4
  2. Restrictions placed on what kind of meat we can eat.
    1. Clean and Unclean at the time of the flood. Genesis 7:2-3
    2. Unclean animals. Leviticus 11:2-8
    3. Unclean sea life. Leviticus 1:9-12
    4. Unclean birds. Leviticus 11:13
  3. The New Testament admonishes not to use unclean meant. 2 Corinthians 6:16-18
    1. Peter's vision of a sheet with unclean animals in it.
    2. Acts 10:14, Acts 10:28
  4. We are not to eat the blood or the fat. Genesis 9:4, Leviticus 3:17
  5. Meat is a source of protein. Be careful of disease.
The body is God's temple.
1. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
  1. We are to take good care of our bodies. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
  2. Christ, even under extreme circumstances, would not take anything that would jeopardize His communion with His Father.
    1. Matthew 27:34
    2. In America, in 1998, cigarettes were responsible for about 582,000 deaths.
    3. No long should the pack of cigarettes say, "This may be hazardous to your health." It should say, "this will kill you."
    4. Cigarette smoking contributes to: heart disease, strokes, various forms of cancer, emphysema, premature births, poor circulation, shortness of breath.
    5. Proverbs 15:24, [New English version]
  3. What does the Bible say about alcohol?
    1. a. Do not be drunk with wine. Ephesians 5:18
    2. Will miss heaven. 1 Corinthians. 6:9-10
    3. Leaven fermented wine alone. Proverbs 23:31-32
    4. Leave intoxicating drinks alone. Proverbs 20:1
    5. Alcohol is estimated to cost the U.S. economy $86 billion a year, outstripping illegal drugs by almost $30 billion.
    6. Alcohol is responsible for roughly 10 percent of all U.S. deaths.
2. Jesus came to give us life. John 10:10