Pick a Word
Pick a word – chubby, pudgy, stout, plump, or round. When used to describe a person’s body, these words reflect a negative view of an individual who is not thin/skinny. Americans have long focused on being thin. The beginnings of the anti-fat trend can be traced back to the British funeral director William Banting’s 1860s book, A Letter on Corpulence, which advocated a low carb diet. The diet book was extremely popular in Europe as well in the US and made Banting an anti-fat crusader. The phrase “I’m banting“ became synonymous with dieting. Others picked-up on the anti-fat theme, such as 1900 Philadelphia Cookbook which declared: “An excess of flesh is to be looked upon as one of the most objectionable forms of disease“.
There have been no shortages of diets since Banting’s time – some of which were unusual to say the least. In 1920s, Lucky Strike cigarettes ads showed women smoking with the caption “Reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet”, implying that smoking would stop the urge to overeat. There have also been many food-centric diets like the Grapefruit diet (1930s), cabbage soup diet (1950s), and the wine and egg diet (1970s). Other well-known weight-loss diets from the last decade include Weight Watchers, SlimFast, Atkins, and the South Beach diets. Today, the Mediterranean, DASH, Noom Nutrisystem, and intermittent fasting are popular weight loss diets.
Will diets someday be a thing of the past given the new weight loss drugs? This week, Eli Lilly announced that the company is seeking approval of their Type 2 diabetes drug, Mounjaro, for weight loss. If approved, Mounjaro will join similar weight loss drugs, Saxenda and Wegovy, which are currently available in the market. These new weight loss drugs offer a non-surgical approach to treat obesity, which if left untreated can lead to heart disease, diabetes, stroke, some types of cancers as well as other disease and health conditions.
While these game-changing weight loss drugs are a big topic of conversation, they should not be the exclusive topic. Individuals face other health challenges related to their weight such as atypical-anorexia and body-dysmorphic-disorders. Read more about these conditions in Mirror, Mirror.
Happy Reading!
Suzanne Daniels
- In the Headlines: current healthcare cost news, including menopause, breast cancer and gun violence.
- Mirror, Mirror: weight loss drugs & body positivity, atypical-anorexia and body-dysmorphic-disorders.
- More or Less: varying Melatonin levels, less Rxs, & decreasing social media time.
- Shades of Green : including my personal favorite, The Monks Who Make Chartreuse Don’t Care About Your Fancy Cocktails!
In the Headlines
New York Times
New York Times Study Shows the Staggering Cost of Menopause for Women in the Work Force
WebMD
Exercise After Breast Cancer Reduces Health Care Costs
Fierce Healthcare
What gun violence costs US healthcare: $1B in initial ER costs, hefty medical bills for patients
Mirror,Mirror
The Conversation
Body dysmorphic disorder is more common than eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia, yet few people are aware of its dangers
U.S. News
What is Atypical Anorexia?
The CUT
Mounjaro and Me: Body positivity was my salvation from an anti-fat world
More or Less
University of MI
Views on Medication Deprescribing
HealthDay
Melatonin Supplements Can Contain Far More Melatonin Than Is Safe
HealthDay
Cutting Down on Social Media Brings Quick Boost to Teens’ Self-Image
Shades of Green
Wall Street Journal
The Monks Who Make Chartreuse Don’t Care About Your Fancy Cocktails
Atlas Obscura
Make the Jellied Delicacy Served Aboard the Titanic
Enjoy the weekend!
Best,
Suzanne
Suzanne Daniels, Ph.D.
AEPC President
P.O. Box 1416
Birmingham, MI 48012
Office: (248) 792-2187
Email: [email protected]