Most of the domain seems to think that America invented obesity sometime in the last 100 , but the true statement is , fatty tissue has always been a part of life ( witness Hatshepsut , one of the great ancient Egyptian queens who predominate in the 15th century BC — despite her svelte sarcophagus , innovative archaeologist believe that she was somewhat weighty and may have suffered from diabetes ) .
So it stands to intellect that diet has been around just as long .
Some historiographer acknowledgment William the Conqueror with start up the first craze diet . Having grow too fat to tantalise his horse , William went on a melted dieting in 1087 — or , rather , a liquor dieting , since all he did was tope booze . The account might be apocryphal — William , still fatty , actually died after light from his horse and there was no Book on whether he was inebriated at the meter — but it ’s a near one , and it sets the tone for the next 1000 + days of dieting . Throughout history , people have been looking for some kind of thaumaturgy that will earmark one to eat and survive as one pleases , but still look emaciatedly gorgeous . And they ’ve come up up with some pretty in question theories that somehow take on appreciation in the public consciousness and became fads . Here are a few of our ducky .
Location, Location, Location
" The Causes and Effects of Corpulence" was a treatise penned in 1727 by one Thomas Short , in which he observe that big people were more likely to inhabit near swampy areas . His advice?Fat people should move to more arid clime .
Improbable Side Effects
The namesake of the graham cracker — ironically now an entire part of that pleasurably fattening treat , the " ˜smore — was a Presbyterian curate who lay claim thatovereating could not only make you fat , it could make you lecherous , too . In the 1830s , Sylvester Graham ran health retreats for similar - minded parishioners have a nonindulgent nitty-gritty - innocent , incredibly bland dieting .
An Early Diet Guru
In 1864 , William Banting open up the " I lost 50 pounds — ask me how" phenomenon by writing a folder describing how he lost 50 pounds by eating a diet of lean meats , ironic toast , vegetable and fruit . Dieting thereafter was referred to as " banting" by common people in the British Isles well into the 20th century .
Chew Yourself Thin
Horace Fletcher , a turn of the century San Francisco art bargainer , became know as the Great Masticator afterhe claimed he fall behind more than 40 pounds by chewing his food until it was basically liquefied and spitting out all the morsel that weren’t . Fletcher ’s scheme became incredibly popular — novelist Henry James and industry titan John D. Rockefeller were reportedly fans , as was John Harvey Kellogg . Kellogg , of the cereal fame , was a nutrition and health nut who ran a sanatarium in Michigan , where he encourage his visitors to " Fletcherize" with a trivial song he publish name " Chew Chew . “
The Parasite Diet
Introducing the Calorie
In 1918 , Dr. Lulu Hunt Peters introduced a Modern word to the world lexicon—“calorie" ( may she be forever and a day cured for it ) . Peters ' Bible , Diet and Health , With a Key to Calories , which helpfully included a phonic spelling of the word " calorie,“ as so many people were unfamiliar with it , sold more than 2 million copy and give nutritionist’s calorie - numeration as the framework of a undecomposed health . This diet authorities was n’t particularly doubtful , but it did bring a potentially dangerous novel tool to those looking for a direction to quantify and contract their solid food ingestion . shell in breaker point : The Scarsdale Diet of 1979 , a hard-and-fast 700 - calorie a solar day dieting that works — because you ’re starving .
The Goldfish Diet
The Nicotine Diet
By the midsection of the 20th century , diet had become such a major economic , social and cultural violence in the Western world that cigarette companies , not want to miss the money boat , jump out on dining table kick upstairs cigarettes as a weight - departure tool . It ’s a belief that persists today — ask any supermodel .
The Master Cleanse
In the 1940s , nutrition guru Stanley Burroughs create theMaster Cleanse , a fast during which the dieter subsists solely on a mixture of cayenne pepper , freshly - squeeze gamboge juice , maple sirup and piss . The Master Cleanse is still popular today , especially among anorexics and aspiring anorexics , despite the fact that most nutritionists and doctors say that " detoxing" is a absurd and potentially harmful idea .
The Sleeping Beauty Diet
Then there ’s theSleeping Beauty Diet , a regime that allows the dieter to literally slumber off the hammer while under heavy sedation for several days . Elvis was reportedly a lover of that one , right about the clock time when he was having a little trouble stuff into those hallmark blanched jump suit , as was a type in the landmark beach read , Valley of the Dolls .
The Monotony Diets
The 20th one C also brought us back to a concept allegedly pioneered by William the Conqueror — the single food or drink diet . There ’s theGrapefruit Diet , which say that eat a lot of grapefruit and fuddle a lot of Citrus paradisi juice , in conjunction , of course , with a very scummy - calorie diet , is the style to weigh less ; theCabbage Soup Diet , which is said to do serious gas with a side of sickness ; thePopcorn Diet , which is fairly much undercut by all the tasty things one invest on Zea mays everta to make it toothsome ; and theChocolate Diet , which , though tempting , is just sheer fatuity .
Memorable Dieting Paraphernalia
That ’s just the barest lead of the billion - clam diet berg , and we know you readers have hear of quite a few more weird , fantastic and apparently unbelievable diet fads . So let ’s hear it — what ’s the crazy diet or weight loss puppet you ’ve ever heard of , or possibly even strain ?
