Modern Day WOW

I would like to express my thoughts on The Word of Wisdom- regarding some things I've noticed recently.

I was watching conference, and one of the choirs was a Utah congregation. And there was an overwhelming trait that most of the members shared- more than half of them were overweight or to the point of being considered medically obese.  And as far as I’m aware, the WoW really counsels to eat correctly for our bodies, to eat fruit and veggies and whole grain, and exercise, and not be idle or sleep more than necessary. And if everyone adhered very strictly to these principles (and I am absolutely not saying that I do) there wouldn’t be nearly as many overweight or obese members (unless there is a medical cause behind it, or if people are naturally large or heavy, or any other factors which are outside of the control of diet of exercise- of which I am aware that there are many.)

So, why as members are we so prone to “pick and choose” about the WOW.  We are told constantly that the commandments are not a buffet- that we cannot pick and choose. So why do we ignore things like “Eat meat sparingly”, but completely shame and ostracize those college students who drink coffee to get through school? Why do we drink energy drinks which are linked to more health problems than I can list, but green tea, with less caffeine than dark chocolate, is taboo? 

How many LDS members were overjoyed when Baja Blast was sold in stores- and then when I pointed this out earlier in the year, I was told “It’s not listed in the Word of Wisdom!” (Which came out 200 years ago and therefore is a completely ridiculous thing to say. Of freaking course it’s not in the WoW.) 

For all intents and purposes, it very much seems like we are all about picking what’s convenient in the WoW, and ignoring the parts that we don’t like. And if that’s not the case, and we can truly say “Things have changed, we now recognize the spirit of the law, rather than the letter of the law” then we also need to recognize that the spirit of the law is to be healthy, and avoid addictive substances- which includes not eating fast food, and drinking cases of Baja Blast.