Two thirds of adults in Britain are overweight and one in four is obese. Obesity is now officially categorised as a disease. It is an epidemic that is inflating the world’s population with blubber.

Since the introduction of corn syrup into our food supply in the early seventies people have put on weight. High fructose corn syrup is added to most of the processed food and drink products that we consume as a sweetener. It is partly responsible for the increase in our waist lines.

The average western meal is based on products made from corn. Mass produced meat is fed on corn, French fries are fried in corn oil, bread is made with corn syrup so that it lasts longer and fructose has replaced sucrose in carbonated drinks. There is a direct link with the over production of corn and the obesity levels today. High fructose corn syrup is flowing through the veins of anyone who consumes soda or fast food which in turn is making huge profits for the manufacturers.

Corn syrup alone cannot be blamed for obesity as we should all be able to control what we put into our bodies. Our life styles have become so busy that many of us consume processed or frozen food rather than cook it from fresh. Processed foods is loaded with calories and salt and is never as filling as home cooked food, yet we all turn to it at some time or another.

People do not think that obesity is sinful or morally unacceptable. Fat bodies have become accepted as part of twenty first century living but gluttons make gods of their bellies. Self-restraint has gone out of fashion and we are allowing ourselves to consume ever greater amounts of food until we are literally sick. Diseases like bulimia are on the increase and anyone with this dysfunctional lifestyle is wasting precious food by vomiting it into a toilet.

God gave us healthy fresh food to fuel our bodies yet so many of us believe it is okay to eat and drink to excess just to satisfy our stomachs and our egos. We see the wonderful fattening food on offer and our eyes become bigger than our bellies. We seem to have lost all sense of responsibility when it comes to feeding ourselves. Do we not have a duty to our children to see they are eating a nutritious and healthy diet instead of junk food which will make them fat?

We have allowed the processed food production companies to dictate the way we eat. They do not care if what we consume is bad for us because they are only interested in making more profit for their shareholders. It is these people who are the real gluttons in our societies and they should be held accountable for the poisons they sell and passed off as wholesome food.

The responsibility of obesity lies within each of us, we should think about what we are putting into our bellies and how much exercise we are getting compared to what we consume. Gluttony is frowned upon in all religions and mentioned in the Bible as well as the Quran.

Chapter 7, verse 31
O children of Adam, you shall dress nicely when you go to the mosque. And eat and drink moderately. Surely He does not love the gluttons.