Summary-Critique Article. Two pages is the summary part, which just summarize what you read and do not include your personal opinions and thoughts. The other two pages is the critique so write the strengths and weaknesses of the article you read.

Summary

To begin, the article describes the role religious leaders can plan in helping mitigate the obesity epidemic within the United States. The article details the overall severity of the problem and its overall impact on society. The problem is that many individuals live a sedentary lifestyle along with engaging in poor eating habits. This problem has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic as more individuals have been relegated to working from home and gyms were closed to prevent the spread of the virus. Likewise, fast food options and unhealthy lifestyles have become the norm in society. People heavily emphasize convenience and therefore often elect to eat unhealthy foods as oppose to preparing healthy ones. This, according to the articles has contributed to a higher percentage of Americans being classified as overweight or obese, which currently stands at 70%. Likewise, this has contributed to heavy increases in heart and other health related deaths, which has the cascading effect of increasing healthcare costs, work absenteeism, and shortly life spans. According to the article, this combination of deteriorating health and nutrition standards combined with every increasing sedentary lifestyle show no sign of abating.

The article notes that religious leaders are very uniquely qualified and positioned to help reduce the overall incidence of obesity through their power and influence. In many instances, religious leaders, particularly in the south command very large audiences and financial resources which can be devoted to battling the obesity epidemic. For one, many church and religious establishments are not subject to taxes. Many religious organizations are exempt for income taxes and receive highly favorable tax treatment not afforded to other areas of industry. As a result, many religious organizations are inherently more profitable by virtue of their favored treatment by society. It is therefore within the purview of many of these organizations to give back to society in exchange for the benefits they accrue from not paying taxes. A portion of these savings according to the article, should be attributed to helping lower the incidence of obesity within the United States. Funding can be used to help promote healthy lifestyles, provide programming designed to encourage active living, and even establish organizations designed to fight obesity.

Likewise, many religious leaders, unlike many other positions of power in America, have a very loyal and captive audience. The article details that many religious leaders have furvert...…a casual glance at the developed world we see that both religious and non-religious individuals participate heavily in this activity. The same goes for lying and even stealing which are apart of the ten commandments. What occurs is that people fake adherence to these principles in front of others while alone and left to their own devices they sin without the knowledge of others knowing. Chidester, in his research related to religious authenticity found that many who practice the religion are often not authentic (Chidester, 2003). This has been exacerbating by the anonymity surrounding social media and other online channels. As such, people tend to make the decisions that give them short-term pleasure, whether it adheres to the religious teaching or principles. This is why nearly 7 out of 10 people in America today are overweight or obese. Marketing, social media, and television has a strong influence over this instant gratification element. Here, consumers are often inundated with this form of gratification and typically enjoy partaking in it. These tendencies which impose impulse purchases using credit, adverse eating habits and even alcohol and drug use can become pervasive.

The article although providing some very pertinent points, does not look to account many of the behaviors that have become entrenched in human behavior and psychology. Many of these influences are very difficult…