In ancient times, people also tried to fight obesity. The problem arose much less often than now, but even then people realized that being overweight is harmful.
How was obesity generally treated in history and in what ways was it fought?
In ancient Greece, obesity was viewed negatively. Hippocrates spoke of the link between obesity and heart disease. And he believed that it often leads to female infertility.
The ancient Greeks devoted a lot of time to training and sports.
The ancient Greeks believed that a warrior and a healthy person cannot be fat. Therefore, their method was as simple as possible: training from morning to night.
In parallel, the cult of military power is developing. All ancient deities are portrayed as muscular and fit.
The ancient Romans, with their Sybaritic tendencies, were slightly more tolerant of obesity. But the aristocrats tried in every possible way to hide the excess weight with the help of clothes.
What if you live in ancient Rome and you are fat? Just put on your muscle cuirass!
The attitude towards being overweight changed in the Middle Ages. In fact, being overweight is condemned only by religious ascetics. But, unlike in Antiquity, sports and the cult of a beautiful figure were condemned even more than obesity.
In religious structures, as in the same monastery of Alcobas, they fought with excess weights. But, of course, it's not about aesthetics or health. Obesity was simply considered inappropriate for a person dedicated to God. This means that he suffers from gluttony and works little, almost no calories. And this and that the monks were reprimanded.
Know, however, did not pay attention to excess weight. A striking example of this is the famous Norman and King of England, William the Conqueror.
William the Conqueror grew fat very quickly. This was best seen by his blacksmith, who was renewing the armor that the king did not fit. And the horse, which found it difficult to carry the fat rider.
Wilhelm decided to lose weight for purely practical reasons, as it was difficult for him to move. And he came up with his own way - to fight food with alcohol. As a result, he died at the age of 59 from a wound received from a fall from a horse.
In the portraits, William the Conqueror looks thin. But he was so fat that he was not held by a horse
As a result, in the Middle Ages, obesity began to be considered a status sign among secular citizens. Exactly for the same reason that it was censured by the monks. After all, you could afford to eat a lot and get this food easily, without hard manual labor (otherwise you would have spent a lot of calories and all the fat would have been burned in the process).
During the Renaissance, the cult of the magnificent body reached its climax.
We thought about the problem of obesity only in Europe in the 18th century (note: we were able to return to what the ancient Greeks knew only after 2 thousand years).
During this period, many scientific papers were published that confirmed the connection between obesity and many diseases. The first works promoting veganism are published. But the medical propaganda did not work - it remained the lot of pundits. Ordinary people were in no hurry to adjust their diet.
But in America, being fat was not considered something bad or dangerous to health.
Fat fashion club
At the end of the 19th century, Americans even began to flaunt it. Fat clubs began to appear. To join such a club, you need to weigh more than 90 kg.
During this period, thinness is criticized with might and main. It is thinness that is associated with poor health, and not being overweight.
Why is obesity so actively fought now? Because it has reached catastrophic proportions. People have at their disposal a lot of cheap high-calorie food and a minimum of physical labor. And over the years, the problem will only get worse.
It is sad that people are trying to make money on this problem. And twice. First, by getting hooked on cheap tasty food (and try to convince your brain not to eat it - it's ideal for taste buds and a surge of joy hormones). Secondly, when they sell weight loss products, methods of super fat burning workouts, etc.
In fact, no one will help us - we will have to get out of this trap ourselves. And there are not so many tools in our arsenal. This is willpower, faith in the result and switching attention - from food to any other activities (just do not repeat the path of William the Conqueror and do not lean on alcohol. It is alcohol that is a powerful catalyst for excess weight!).
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