It’s in the bible. At least according to a bible-thumper in an interview in a recent episode from This American Life. The episode is a re-run from 2016 which focuses on the struggles of fat people living in the US.
The full episode is great and I recommend you listen it, but the highlight for me was the 4th act. The 4th act is about a weight-loss Christian movement from the 1970s. The reporter, Daniel Engber, reports about guidelines set by the Oral Roberts University for fat people.
According to the report, the founder of the University did not want graduating students to be fat. From his perspective, students graduating from his university had to embody their philosophy; “The Whole Man Philosophy”. And chief among that philosophy was one’s body being the “home of the holy spirit”. As such, said home had to be a “fit” home.
And what would happen if the holy spirit did not find your home “fit” enough? Well, you’d be suspended and have to come back next semester, of course. But not before a group prayer to give you strength on your “home remodeling” journey.
By the late 1970s, the “home remodeling” program at the university gained national visibility as news outlets of the day came to the campus to learn more about it. By this point the program was humming along, complete with classes for the fat kids. In these classes the professor would quote verses from the bible to help them see that being fat could not have any purpose whatsoever.
So there you have it, don’t be fat… God said so…
