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Nowadays, the most famous sins in society, regardless of religion, are pride, envy, anger, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust. They gained wide recognition due to their mention in famous literary works, for example, in the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. Meanwhile, these seven vices are not simply condemned by religion they are mortal sins. Each of these sins represents certain destructive behaviors that derive from the main action of the sin.
Gluttony can be defined as the immoderate consumption of food without regard to ones health or satiety. In antiquity, it was believed that gluttony causes both bodily suffering and suffering of the soul since the object of the joy of the glutton is not good or sophisticated. The fight against the vice of gluttony involves not so much a strong-willed suppression of the urge to eat, but a reflection on foods true place in life. Moreover, gluttony is understood not only by overeating, but also drunkenness, drug use, smoking, excessive love for pleasures, and sophistication of food. This passion becomes the desire of the soul for pleasure, an irresistible want to eat more or more refined food than is required to maintain a healthy body. Gluttony represents obsessive and compulsive behavior, excessive emotional involvement with the process of eating, and destructive nutrition patterns. A person obsessed with the highest degree of gluttony comes to the point that, upon realizing the physiological impossibility of digesting the amount of food consumed, they take pills to digest food. Additionally, causing a gag reflex to release swallowed food to eat even more can develop into a specific eating disorder bulimia.
Thus, the main reason behind the destructive behavior associated with gluttony is the obsession with food and the inability to control ones impulses. As states DeYoung (2009), old and deeply rooted desires pull people towards sinful behavior even if they are already in the process of developing their virtue. If a person indulges in overeating for too long, serious consequences begin; however, it must be noted that often, overeating is not the reason but the after-effect of health problems. These can be both genetic mutations and acquired disorders in the work of hormones: for example, leptin, which is responsible for the feeling of fullness. If leptin is not produced in the right amounts, the satiety signal never reaches the brain: a person simply cannot stop eating because they do not feel sated. Mental health problems are another cause for compulsive overeating when a person is stressed or suffers from depression or anxiety, they may use food as a means to reduce stress. Moreover, the feeling of guilt from consuming too much food can create a vicious circle of constant stress and, again, overeating.
From this point, one can define typical symptoms of gluttony. Gluttons suffer from constant or periodic loss of control over the process of eating, as well as from an increase in portions and frequency of eating during stress. This leads to the weakening of subjective sensations regarding the volume of portions and the time of their absorption; the person can no longer feel how much they eat, unable to feel completely satiated. Relapses in gluttonous behavior can also sometimes be pre-planned: for example, buying large amounts of food for late-night meals or stressful days. There also can be memory lapses related to meals: the inability to remember the diet for the previous and even the current day. Finally, gluttons, as a rule, are embarrassed to show their weakness towards food in public, which is an additional source of negative feelings for them.
There are significant consequences to overeating, especially nowadays, when the variety of food and sedentary lifestyle dominate society. Millions of people today are engaged in mental work, thus, they do not have time to spend consumed calories, which leads to the formation of body fat and an increase in excess weight. This, in turn, can be the source of many other diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, obesity, and cardiovascular disorders. Moreover, regular abuse of the parts of the nervous system responsible for the feeling of satiety can negatively affect the concentration of glucose in the blood. Thus, the feeling of hunger increases for a longer period, prompting further overeating.
There is also an increased load on the digestive organs responsible for the synthesis of biologically active catalysts. Failures in their work can lead to stomach ulcers, liver disease, and the formation of kidney stones. If there is a significant amount of sugar in the diet, then the pancreas becomes vulnerable, which leads to disruptions in the endocrine system and the development of diabetes. In advanced cases, the natural metabolism is disrupted completely: it will be doubly difficult to return to a normal diet, as the body is already accustomed to serious stress.
Obesity and food addiction have become widespread and significant problems in modern society, both health-related and social. The acceleration of the movement of society along more and more complicated trajectories of social and cultural development affects the functioning of life values, including the nature of human nutrition. Industrialization, rationalization, and globalization of the food industry have ambivalent implications for modern humans. Gluttony is no more just a religious concept it is a serious condition that requires medical and behavioral corrections to overcome. In time, it gives rise to new manifestations of dehumanization, alienation, and culturally determined diseases such as anorexia, obesity, diabetes, and many others. The behavioral deviations behind gluttony must be recognized, studied, and treated accordingly.
Reference
DeYoung, R. K. (2009). Glittering vices: A new look at the seven deadly sins and their remedies. Brazos Press.
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