Focus Concepts & White Papers

The History of Diets

1700s      Dieting to reduce body weight emerges as a western concept. Trendy Madame
                 de Pompadour, at 5'1" and 111 lbs., declares herself "skeletally thin." The corset
                 is invented.

1828       French food aesthete Brillat-Savarin suggests moderation, not for health reasons,
                 but a sign as of refinement. Diets are de rigueur. Godey's Lady Book
                 promotes fashionably thin models.

1864      William Banting drops 46 pounds eating mutton, eggs and vegetables, as described
                 in his best-selling Letter on Corpulence.

1917       Diet and Health is first published by Lulu Hunt Peters, a chronically overweight
                 person. Peters teaches readers about "calories," a term previously used only in
                 physics, and advises a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet.

1930s     Movie stars popularize the Hollywood 18-Day Diet. It consists of grapefruit,
                 melba toast, green vegetables and boiled eggs.

1933       Mayo Clinic's scientific diet, the Mayo Food Nomogram, is mistaken for a complicated
                 word game and fades into obscurity.

1939       Miracle diet pills, a.k.a. amphetamines, generate sales of $30 million annually
                 before the FDA steps in. Bathing-suit ad slogan: "Suit by Jantzen. Body by
                 Dexaspan."

1943       Metropolitan Life publishes Ideal Weight Table for women

1947       Psychoanalyst Hilde Bruch says the glandular theory of obesity is not true.
                 "The blubbery patient belongs not in the gym, but in the psychiatrist's office."

1951-52 The New York Times claims overweight is our number-one health problem.
                 Reader's Digest admonishes wives to "Stop Killing Your Husband."

1959       The New York Times now reports that Americans suffer "a dieting neurosis."
                 Gallup Poll finds 72 percent of dieters are women. Metracal, the first liquid diet
                 proclaims: "Not one of the top 50 U.S. corporations has a fat president." Girdle
                 sales reach record highs.

1960       Stillman Diet, requiring eight glasses of water and filet mignon every day, is introduced.
                 Overeaters Anonymous, inspired by AA is founded.

1961       A Queens, New York housewife, Jean Nidetch, starts dieting discussion group.
                 Seventeen years later, sells her Weight Watchers empire for $100 million.

1963       Coca-Cola introduces TAB. However, men won't drink from a pink can.

1966       Atkins Diet published in Harper's Bazaar. Eggs, bacon even pork rinds allowed;
                 broccoli is restricted.

1967       Twiggy, 5'7" and 91 lbs., appears on cover of Vogue four times.

1970       Seventy percent of American families using low-cal products; 10 billion amphetamines
                 manufactured annually.

1977       Liquid protein diets banned after three deaths.

1979       The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet becomes a best-seller. Success is
                 short-lived for creator, Dr. Herman Tarnower.

1982       John Hopkins University researchers calculate that Americans have swallowed
                 more than 29,068 "theories, treatments and outright schemes to lose weight."
                 NFL endorses Diet Coke for men.

1990       Oprah Winfrey loses 67 pounds on Optifast; one year later, Oprah gains back
                 67 pounds and declares, "No more diets!"

1992       The National Institutes of Health champions moderation and daily exercise as
                 the best diet. Extreme obesity is declared a disease.

1995       Fen-Phen (fenfluramin and phentermine) introduced to the market place as the
                 new magic pill solution to weight-loss.

1997       Mayo Clinic releases report claiming fen-phen causes heart valve deterioration
                 and possible permanent brain cell damage. Manufacturer voluntarily withdraws
                 fen-phen and Redux from the market.

2000       American Home Products continues to defend against more than 2,000 class
                 action suits brought against the company by parties claiming damaged from the
                 company’s fen-phen-based products. Weider Nutrition settles with the FTC for
                 “Unsubstantiated Claims for Dietary Supplements” for its Phen Cal products.

2002       Atkins returns along with South Beach as they and other low-carb diets become
                 the new trend in weight-loss. Body Solutions, another quick-fix diet pill,
                 files bankruptcy.

2003       Ephedra-based products are banned in California and other states as research
                 points to overuse and abuse causing serious injury and or death. Obesity
                 reaches highest levels in U.S. history.

2004       Cortislim is charged by the FTC for “claiming, falsely and without substantiation,
                 that their products can cause weight loss and reduce the risk of, or prevent, serious
                 health conditions.

2005        Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig continue to dominate the commercial
                 weight-loss industry with new claims and new games. The USDA introduces the
                 new MyPyramid. It creates even more debate among food experts and fitness
                 professionals. Atkins Nutritionals files Chapter 11.

Throughout history, “Fitness” (proper nutrition and
physical activity) continues to be the ONLY credible and
long-term protocol / solution to weight-management..