Reddit reviews Health Benefits of Tobacco

I suggest you take up smoking. It's a great appetite suppressant and doctors have yet to find one provable negative side effect. Smoke yourself skinny!

Seriously though. It's long been seen as completely okay to mock fat people in our culture for all the reasons you mentioned. Luckily, I think that is starting to change because people are realizing all those other factors such as socioeconomic factors, diseases, etc. do come into play. It may take time, but it seems to me as if the attitude is starting to change.

But combining "peak" physical health with spiritual health is definitely a bit wrong-minded. Some of the greatest saints and mystics have almost starved themselves to death. Not a model of health. Furthermore, I suspect that person is confusing two things. It is generally true that when a person exercises more regularly, they have more energy overall. This individual seems to be confusing a physical "buzz" with spiritual growth.

That can be problematic. Especially as our "spiritual level" is not contingent on how we "feel." Again, some of the greatest mystics and saints have felt constantly and overwhelmingly abandoned, depressed, un-energetic and forgotten. Emotions can be good and useful and they should be integrated into our faith lives. But we should not view them as our "spiritual thermometer."

Not to sympathize with your position, but I would honestly do research anyway. It'll be a better, stronger piece of work for it.

Some recommended reading:
The Smoking Book (seems like potential competition)

The Smoke of the Gods: A Social History of Tobacco

The Health Benefits of Tobacco: A Smoker's Paradox