Overcoming obesity with the aid of Christian faith

Peter LaBarbera

Although effective diets, exercise, or medical interventions can rid a person of excess weight, often merely having effective methods available to lose weight is not enough - very frequently, it takes self-discipline as well.

On the other hand, besetting sins such as obesity, homosexuality and drunkeness can certainly be more effectively conquered with the assistance of Christian faith, self-discipline and of course through diet and exercise well (see also: Atheism and obesity).

Peter LaBarbera is the President of Americans for Truth which is an organization which counters the homosexual agenda. Peter LaBarbera declared concerning Christian ex-homosexuals who reported being transformed by the power of God:

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Another factor from my experience as a close observer of the “ex-gay” phenomenon is that many former homosexuals do not linger in “reparative therapy” programs, or participate in them at all. They attribute their dramatic and (relatively) rapid transformation to the power of God, and likely would not show up in a study of this kind. In fact, these “unstudied” overcomers would appear to be the most successful ex-homosexuals because they’ve moved on with their lives — as “reborn” Christians move on after overcoming any besetting sin.

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In 1980 a study was published in the American Journal of Psychiatry and eleven men participated in a study about men overcoming homosexuality. The American Journal of Psychiatry stated that eleven homosexual men became heterosexuals "without explicit treatment and/or long-term psychotherapy" through their participation in a Pentecostal church. The results of this study are not surprising since Christian faith has shown itself to be effective in combating drug addiction. For example, Christian group Teen Challenge reported the following:

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Teen Challenge claims of a 70% cure rate for the drug addicts graduating from their program attracted the attention of the U.S. Federal Government in 1973. Most secular drug rehabilitation programs only experienced a cure rate of 1-15% of their graduates. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, funded the first year of this study to evaluate the long term results of the Teen Challenge program.

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Teen Challenge has a number of studies that indicate the high effectiveness of their drug treatment program compared to other programs.

Dr. Whitehead and Briar Whitehead declare:

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The sexology literature reports a huge number of examples of change of all degrees from homosexuality to or toward heterosexuality. These studies have been so numerous that West (a gay man) in 1977 took an entire chapter in his classic book, Homosexuality Re-examined, to review them, and commented: “Although some militant homosexuals find such claims improbable and unpalatable, authenticated accounts have been published of apparently exclusive and long-standing homosexuals unexpectedly changing their orientation.” West mentions one man who was exclusively homosexual for eight years, then became heterosexual... Another well known author in the field, Hatterer, who believes in sexual orientation change, said, “I’ve heard of hundreds of ... men who went from a homosexual to a heterosexual adjustment on their own.”

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External links

• Obesity and an F grade in fat - A need for faith in God