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A study published this week has demonstrated the effectiveness of certain ‘weight loss drugs’ on regulating appetite. For some, this will be wonderful news. Weight loss interventions in the right contexts can be nothing short of life-transforming. But the story raises, yet again, the age old question of how we relate to our bodies in a positive way. While for some people these drugs will bring healthiness and well-being, there are worrying reports of people using them harmfully, to achieve thinness at all costs, with the risk of them becoming malnourished.

The need for body positivity is not new. Talk of ‘fat-shaming’, and the need to resist it, began as early as the 1960s. Yet, as I grew up through the 1970s and 80s, it felt as though I was bombarded constantly with images of unfeasible and unhealthy skinniness and the threat of being deemed ugly. When I had two children myself, both of them girls, I worked really hard to instill in them the value of healthiness rather than thinness but it has, over the years, felt like an uphill battle. Somedays the effort to resist the narrative that my value rests solely in what I look like, takes every ounce of mental energy that I have.
The Christian tradition hasn’t always helped with this. Talk of spirituality can imply that it is more important to look after our souls than our bodies. But actually, throughout the Bible, bodies are hugely valued and significant. God created human beings, with bodies, and declared them to be very good. The apostle Paul when he talked about life after death assumed that this would be bodily and, when he spoke about Christians gathered together, he called them the body of Christ. Jesus, himself, declared that he had come to give life, life in all its fullness. The life he was talking about was as much physical as it was spiritual. We are embodied beings, beloved by God, bodies and all.

This week is mental health awareness week, and ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Wellbeing week, with content across channels exploring mental health and emotional wellbeing.. It is a really good time to remind ourselves that we do not have bodies we are bodies, and they are not a source of shame, not something to be loathed or despised. They are to be loved and cherished exactly as they are, with all of their curves, squidgy bits and quirkiness. Our bodies are glorious and they are worth celebrating and looking after in every way possible.