Sample diet from "Foods for the Fat."
In current health and medical news, “obesity” is a much-used term — the current state of fright over the weight status of the “average” American would seem to be a relatively new issue being linked to everything from children’s inability to pay attention in school to the rise of Type II diabetes in adults.
But the MHL collections include plenty of older material that evinces an extremely modern concern with weight, weight-related health issues, and weight loss. Included in that number is Nathaniel Edward Davies’ 1896 Foods for the Fat: A Treatise on Corpulency and a Dietary for Its Cure.
Davies starts out with what he assumes — probably correctly! — will be the most reassuring words for his readers: losing weight need not be difficult (2) — presumably the difficulty will be even further reduced if one follows his system. As encouragement, he touches on the likely malign effects of overweight — including “limitation of the power of enjoyment,” profuse sweating, and premature mortality. (11-12)
Davies’ short book — well under 200 pages — is a transAtlantic import. Originally written for an English audience, Davies has translated it for Americans, although he notes in his opening pages that “…our American seasons vary greatly from the English, for which reason the English tables here given will hardly serve as a perfect guide to the formation of an American dietary.” (9) Despite this, he offers detailed tables of foods that will be of benefit to those seeking to lose weight. (Would a modern dietary manual be likely to suggest that hares should be eaten in January?)
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