Lael Atkinson is pastor of Payson Park United Church of Christ in Belmont, Mass. In 2003, she delivered a sermon about America as a culture that consumes too much of everything, including food.

Miriam Berg is president of the Council on Size and Weight Discrimination, a national nonprofit group based in Mount Marion, N.Y., that works to eliminate weight discrimination and “sizism.”

Ravindra S. Khare is a professor of anthropology at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He has written about Hindu gastrosemantics.

Francine Prose is the author of 10 books, including Gluttony, part of the “Seven Deadly Sins” series (Oxford University Press, 2003). She is a distinguished writer in residence at Bard College in New York. She lives in New York City.

Jualynne Dodson is a visiting professor at the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Michigan State University in East Lansing. She has written extensively about African-American Christians and food.

The Rev. O.S. Hawkins is president of Dallas-based GuideStone Financial Resources. He has said that taking care of the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit is one of the duties of a Baptist. The top two medical claims paid by the denomination’s health insurance program in 2002 were for obesity-related ailments, including back […]

Kenneth Ferraro is a professor of sociology and psychological sciences at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. In 1998, he published the findings of a study that showed that religious participation is associated with higher body weight. His study of 3,600 people found that Southern Baptists are heaviest, with Jews, Muslims and Buddhists less likely to […]

Prism Weight Loss Program is a Christian program that says it is suitable for nonreligious people as well.

Grace Today Dieters is a support website for Christian dieters.