The Religion of Thinness: Satisfying the Spiritual Hungers Behind Women's Obsession with Food and Weight

By Michelle M. Lelwica
Gurze Books, $18.95, 284 pages

Lelwica has her doctorate in theology from Harvard divinity school and has published and lectured widely on the nexus between spiritual hunger and “food issues” in the lives of modern American women. As a religion, the focus on food and weight provides us with the key elements of religious practice: idols (thin women), with rituals (counting calories, points, etc.), community (millions of us talking about food and weight), judgment and  penance (burning 400 calories on the treadmill), and most importantly the promise of peace and happiness (salvation through Weight Watchers, Atkins, etc.).  As one of the flock, I recognized the sad accuracy of this comparison.  Even more, I appreciate that Lelwica has found concrete solutions for breaking away.  She recommends two actions: first, realize the lie: we really are intelligent and experienced enough to know that being a certain weight will not solve our problems or bring us peace.  Be critical of popular culture and then cultivate a practice of mindfulness that can put each of us where we belong: feeling our bodies and our hungers and making more helpful decisions about what we need to fill them. Offering a path away from misery, Lelwica’s book is lucid, well researched, thoughtful, detailed, convincing, and compassionate.

Reviewed by Marcia Jo