November 27, 2024 - 10:00am
The rise of obesity in recent years is attributed to causes as various as the technology boom, increases in processed food consumption, and the sedentary nature of modern working life. More and more people must be widening the surplus between their calorific intakes and expenditures, but exactly why that should be the case is hotly debated. Now, we have a bold new theory â and it’s from a rather unexpected source.
âNourishing Britainâ is a report out this week from the former food tsar Henry Dimbleby and the public health scientist Dolly van Tulleken. It draws on interviews with a number of eminent figures, including Boris Johnson.
According to The Times, the ex-PM did not hold back. He began by recalling his childhood, observing that it was âvery rare for there to be a fatso in the class. Now theyâre all fatsos, and Iâd be shot for saying theyâre fatsos, but itâs the truth.â
Remarkably, he goes on to blame the obesity epidemic on a crisis of religious faith: âYou talk about the living bread of spiritual sustenance. Well, itâs not being provided by the blooming church, I can tell you that much. The living bread is being provided by Tesco.â
Warming to his theme, Johnson also says that instead of preaching Left-wing politics, the Archbishop of Canterbury and âreligious leaders should try to fill what is obviously an aching spiritual void in peopleâs lives, that drives them to gorge themselves.â Predictably, there’s been a backlash, but is there any substance to this theory?
Certainly, thereâs no guarantee that godliness is next to slenderness. For instance, the avoirdupois of Pope Francis cannot be denied. One might also think of G.K. Chesterton, a great walrus of a man, who literally wrote the book on Christian orthodoxy. Then thereâs Saint Thomas Aquinas, who was nicknamed the Dumb Ox for his reticence and corpulence.
And yet Johnson may be on to something. There’s a mountain of evidence to suggest that religious belief and practice is associated with better than average levels of mental and physical wellbeing. Actively religious people tend to live longer and suffer lower levels of stress and depression.
Less conveniently for Johnson’s argument, the evidence on churchgoing and the specific issue of obesity presents a more mixed picture. Perhaps thatâs because of all those bring-and-share church meals which, in my experience, are light on the salads. But if people of faith are as fat or fatter than the general population, that makes their generally higher level of health all the more interesting.
There are multiple explanations for this effect. Firstly, the encouragement taken from religious teachings. Secondly, the discouragement, or outright prohibition, of destructive behaviours such as substance abuse. Then thereâs the role that places of worship play in fostering voluntary action and mutual aid. For instance, a 2021 study found that UK churchgoers are more likely to trust their neighbours and give to charity than non-churchgoers.
For policymakers, this is the most important factor. Government canât do everything, which is why we need strong communities. And yet this is a time when social spaces are in deep trouble. Pubs are going to the wall and nightclubs are closing at such a rate that they’re forecast to go extinct by the end of the decade. Against expectations, churches may be among the last community institutions left standing â and given their measurably positive impact on wellbeing, it is vital that we hold on to them.
So despite his usual performance and provocation, Johnson is making a serious point and is absolutely right to sound the alarm. Overly progressive sermons are not exclusively to blame for the fall in church attendance, but it’s clear that current efforts to halt the decline are not working. The departure of Justin Welby is a chance to take a more muscular approach â one that leans into the vital links between spiritual, mental and physical health.
Peter Franklin is Associate Editor of UnHerd. He was previously a policy advisor and speechwriter on environmental and social issues.
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SubscribeDishonest pholandering liars are in no position to pontificate on matters spiritual.
Just because a person’s a hypocrite doesn’t make them wrong? But cancelling them because they are certainly may be?
Exactly – that’s why Welby had to go.
But I think we can agree that Johnson’s certainly qualified to talk about obesity. No “fatsos in the class” to be seen if you don’t have a mirror to hand.
Pholandering? Is that something to do with the Vietnamese soup?
More waffle from the arch self promoter Boris Johnson.
It’s simple really and it certainly isn’t spiritual.
Welfarism is destroying our economy and our values.
I think a greater factor that welfarism in church attendance is our wish to be our own authority. The historian, Tom Holland, writes about this in his book Dominion.
Spiritual poverty is probably part of the problem.
The church has lost people’s trust due to the child abuse scandals, but the obesity crisis has far more to do with other social changes. Abundant cheap processed food for working mothers who no longer have the time or the energy to cook fresh food from scratch is far more to blame in my view.
I do not trust Boris Johnson, he might be clever but I think he’s too frivolous and reckless to be taken seriously.
Frivolity is a natural consequence of cleverness, because the latter makes you see the absurdity of the world.
A few clever politicians,
William Pitt
Disraeli
Gladstone
Clement Atlee
Margaret Thatcher
Rishi Sunak
Were they frivolous ?
I think you might be projecting your own inclinations and making it a universal truth, which it is’nt. Some clever people might be that way, others will be philosophical, and others will be serious.
I there might be something in that. Itâs a bit like: pessimism of the intellect; optimism of the will – but with a lighter hearted approach to the pessimism bit.
Every few years this evidence rears its head. Very good to be reminded, even if by BoJo.
What an insipid essay.
It’s the volume of food that’s consumed and the lack of exercise to burn off the excess that’s to blame for increased obesity and the serious conditions that accompany it.
And once the ‘oh it’s too late to do anything about it’, the fateful end is nigh for the grossly overweight.
And then they are prey to:
Cardiovascular disease and stroke, Type 2 diabetes, High cholesterol, Breathing difficulties, Joint problems, Cancers, Liver and gallbladder disease, Gynecological problems, Mental illness and Pregnancy complications.
‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die’ should be their slogan.
Iâd argue itâs the type of food rather than the volume. You have to eat a lot of meat and veg in order to get fat, and likely get full before you do so. You only have to eat half the amount of some processed foods for the same number of calories, and you are often still hungry after doing so
Leaving aside the issue that Johnson himself isnât exactly sporting an idealised physiqueâŠ
As it’s highly unlikely that Partygate was the result of the ‘aching spiritual void in people’s lives’, BoJo is using a baguette to beat the clergy in the manner that he once used straight bananas to beat the EU.
The record is more mixed. As with everything else, it depends on how food is used.
The spiritually out-of-sorts Edmund greedily accepts the Turkish delight and hot chocolate from the Narnian White Witch, and wants more, even though he feels sick after eating it. This isn’t just food, it is her food, as Mr Beaver exclaims with horror.
Food leading to the Fall. The Tempter uses bread as a snare in the wilderness. On the other hand, Jesus fed the five thousand, with lots to spare. He was derided as ‘a winebibber’. God sends the angel to encourage Elijah to eat before his long journey.
In his example, BoJo’s wit is more the equivalent of junk food.
This is terrible news. With people throwing up less at 2 in the morning, obesity can only get worse!
Also no late night liaison with a fellow drunkard found in the kebab shop after the club shut to burn off a few extra calories!
And no leaving early in the morning without breakfast. Or skipping breakfast till you feel better.
Pope Francis is a fatso. The Italians have a saying, “After a fat pope, a thin pope.” So we’re due a skinny one.
I don’t think religious faith has any relevance to how we actually address the issue of obesity. From a Scottish perspective , the recent census showed an ever declining number of people who declare a religion. Religion and ethnic group results published | National Records of Scotland and the low levels of actual attendance is such that many churches, especially in more rural areas will soon service areas so large that it may well will inhibit actual support, as distance becomes a barrier and activism levels decrease. Where I think I would partly agree with Boris Johnson is that it may well be a different kind of faith that is the required to address obesity. That is going to include people taking more personal responsibility for their health, diet and activity levels but also saying to their politicians that obesity levels will not be reduced if we fail to acknowledge the impact of ultra processed foods. No easy answers here and sadly governments of all persuasions seem to be paying lip service to the issue.