Churches across the US are discovering a new way to improve the lives of their congregants - by helping them to lose weight.
Whether the motivation is self-improvement, a closer relationship with God, or to raise funds for their church, a growing number of people are turning to their local church rather than a weight-loss expert to shed the pounds.
Take Minister Thea Wilson of the African American-membered First Baptist Church of Glenarden (FBCG) in Upper Marlboro, Maryland , for instance. She lost 80 pounds through a unique church-designed weight-loss programme that teaches self-discipline based on Biblical principles.
In FBCG's "Fit for the Kingdom" ministry, participants are given Bible studies in conjunction with diet restrictions so they grow in faith as their waist size shrinks.
"We teach people how to replace a relationship that has been developed with food or any other thing that is controlling them and replace that with a relationship with God," said Wilson, who is associate minister at FBCG and director of the "Fit for the Kingdom" ministry.
"A lot of people run to food for comfort for reasons other than just to fuel their bodies."
Participants are taught to wait for their "God-given" physiological hunger signals - such as a stomach growl or burning sensation - before eating, and to stop eating once their hunger is satisfied. Other tips include cutting portions in half and eating on smaller plates.
"We are not going to deprive you of the food that you love," Wilson said chuckling, noting that participants are not forced to eat planned meals. "We want to try to re-teach you how to eat and how to feed the body."
Bible studies in the weight loss programme are especially important for people addicted to food, Wilson emphasised. Counsellors spend 10 weeks teaching the Bible and talking to participants on how they can have a "more loving relationship with their Creator". A prayer life and praise and worship are also encouraged in the programme.
"We say that your restriction is your knowing whether or not you are obeying God," Wilson said. "Because when your heart is right your outside will follow...We train people to have inner control because when the inside is controlled then the outside will be controlled."
On average, participants in the "Fit for the Kingdom" programme lose 2 pounds per week.
Since the ministry's inception in 1997, several thousands have gone through the weight lost programme.
