“How can it be that with so many temple attending, word of wisdom followers. so many of them are grossly overweight, to put it mildly?” (Jim)
For the same reason that so many of them are not overweight.
Obesity
“I do wonder why so many obese people in the ward where I attend have temple recommends. Why is that obesity is not considered a sin in the church?” (Pat)
Thanks for writing, Pat. A couple of thoughts.
Regarding the temple recommends, you will need to talk to those who issued them. The temple recommend process involves an interview. During the interview, interviewers ask the candidates questions. The interviewers consider the responses to those questions and then use their discretion to decide whether the person qualifies for the recommend.
Given that interviewers use their discretion and every interview may not result in entirely similar answers, I cannot begin to speculate on the reasoning those interviewers used to issue any or all of the recommends.
Additionally, there is a difference between overweight and obese. Generally, those with a body mass index of 25.0–29.9 are considered overweight, and those with a BMI of 30.0–39.9. I am not intimately familiar with the situation of the ward where you live, but I do find it unusual that there would be a high concentration of those with a BMI in the 30–39.9 range.
Finally, one should keep in mind that weight problems (even actual obesity) are not present in all people because of diet. Some persons are genetically predisposed to obesity. Despite controlling diet and exercise, they can appear overweight while still being generally healthy and physically fit.
Naturally, such a variable topic presents challenges to my being able to offer any sort of accurate speculation not only on a person’s receiving a recommend, but also on their adherence to the Word of Wisdom.
I do agree with the idea, however, that the positive aspects of the Word of Wisdom do not receive as much attention as the prohibitions.
I hope this addresses your question.
If they are so harmful . . .
“If coffee, tea and beer are so harmful to us why has the church not addressed obesity?” (Jim)
The Word of Wisdom does not specify that those things are forbidden because they are harmful. In fact, there are many studies that report tea is healthy for us.
Either way, it probably would be good for them to focus more on the positive aspects of the Word of Wisdom than they already do.