Obesity — a historical perspective

Why obesity wasn’t a problem before, and is a problem now.

What is really the cause of obesity (the aetiology of obesity)? This is not a question most people think about because they assume they already know the answer. Too many calories causes obesity, they think. Of course, if it were true, then cutting calories would reverse the obesity epidemic. That, unfortunately, did not happen.

The entire obsession with calories was a 50 year dead end. We can only start to address the problem of weight loss and gain by understanding the real causes. So what is the real cause of obesity? Let’s go back in time and see what people thought about obesity in the past.

William Banting 1796–1878 is considered to have written the first diet book. He started off as a normal weight fellow in his teens and 20’s. However, as he went through his 30’s, 40’s and 50’s he started to gain some weight. Not much, but a few pounds per year. Before long, he was age 62 and weighed 202 pounds. Not bad by modern standards, but a real chunky monkey by the standards of that time. So, on the advice of his physicians, he tried to eat less. But then, he felt tired, hungry and he wasn’t really losing any weight. Then, he tried to exercise more. He rowed the Thames and became quite physically fit. However, he was still not able to keep…