We, as a people, are becoming idle, living in luxury and ease, and in the gratification of artificial wants. Some indulge in unwholesome fast food and think more of gratifying a morbid appetite than of supplying the body with proper nourishment. Others devote unnecessary attention to expensive clothes, yielding themselves completely to the sway of fashion. Such gluttony in diet and dress manifests itself in the general appearance of a person, and exposes his folly to the world with tobacco-tainted breath, a beer-bloated body, a rum reddened nose, and other manifestations. They pamper themselves instead of practicing self-denial, and appear to think that the chief end of life is gratification, rather than useful endeavor. The word "gluttony" in the context of the paragraph most likely means:

a. IRRESPONSIBILITY
b. WISDOM
c. DEVOTION
d. VIOLENCE