- Louise Foxcroft, Calories and Corsets: A history of dieting over two thousand years
Whilst the obsession with our sizes and shapes is nothing new (we have a whole history of corsets, bustles and chest binders to prove that), the contemporary trend for diet books themselves perhaps begins in modern memory with The Atkins Diet. Published in 1972, Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution encouraged readers to cut out carbohydrates in favour of protein-filled food to open the gates to weight loss heaven. It became a best seller and, in the early 2000s when the diet regained popularity, it was even linked to a 4.6% decrease in pasta sales (Phil Lempert)!
What followed in the years to come was an onslaught of fad diet books, most of which graced my mother's, auntie's and family friends' book shelves at some point in my childhood. The Beverly Hills Diet (1981) told readers that losing weight wasn't about what you ate, but about when you ate it and in what order. The Blood Type Diet (1997) suggested that eating habits needed to be modified based on which one of the four blood groups you are. The Dunkan Diet (2000) is set out in phases, the first of which consists of only being allowed to eat from a list of 72 high-protein foods. The Fasting Diet (2012) is all about a 5:2 day split of eating a normal amount of calories and fasting. Then, of course, we come into the realms of Ella Woodward, the Hemsley Sisters and Amelia Freer and their clean eating empires.
Perhaps what's most striking to me about these books - aside from the fact that the diets themselves sound absolutely insufferable - is the fact that they cannot be used in conjunction. The discourse of the diet book is one of complete prescriptivism. Each of these texts is aiming to replace the one that came before it. They are marketed, almost without exception, as the final solution to all of our weight loss woes. Dr Atkins' Diet Revolution was called "The High Calorie Way to Stay Thin Forever" and The Dunkan Diet was marketed as being the "2 steps to lose the weight" and the "2 steps to keep it off forever". As Theodore Dalrymple brilliantly summarises, “When a book’s title includes words such as ‘final’ or ‘ultimate,’ there are sure to be more books to follow”. And, sure enough, both of these books were re-released in various editions and had sister books created that attempted to make the diets simpler and more effective.
Understanding this, the 'clean eating' movement seems a lot less revolutionary. Just like every other diet book before it they insist on you relearning everything you thought you knew about health (you thought brown pasta was good for you? WRONG!) and are treated as the final solution to the ultimate problem. Basically then, they are just a repackaged version of the good ol' fad diet, in a cycle that's been doing the rounds for decades.
I can't help but wondering, what food group are we going to be told to abandon next?
Whilst the obsession with our sizes and shapes is nothing new (we have a whole history of corsets, bustles and chest binders to prove that), the contemporary trend for diet books themselves perhaps begins in modern memory with The Atkins Diet. Published in 1972, Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution encouraged readers to cut out carbohydrates in favour of protein-filled food to open the gates to weight loss heaven. It became a best seller and, in the early 2000s when the diet regained popularity, it was even linked to a 4.6% decrease in pasta sales (Phil Lempert)!
What followed in the years to come was an onslaught of fad diet books, most of which graced my mother's, auntie's and family friends' book shelves at some point in my childhood. The Beverly Hills Diet (1981) told readers that losing weight wasn't about what you ate, but about when you ate it and in what order. The Blood Type Diet (1997) suggested that eating habits needed to be modified based on which one of the four blood groups you are. The Dunkan Diet (2000) is set out in phases, the first of which consists of only being allowed to eat from a list of 72 high-protein foods. The Fasting Diet (2012) is all about a 5:2 day split of eating a normal amount of calories and fasting. Then, of course, we come into the realms of Ella Woodward, the Hemsley Sisters and Amelia Freer and their clean eating empires.
Perhaps what's most striking to me about these books - aside from the fact that the diets themselves sound absolutely insufferable - is the fact that they cannot be used in conjunction. The discourse of the diet book is one of complete prescriptivism. Each of these texts is aiming to replace the one that came before it. They are marketed, almost without exception, as the final solution to all of our weight loss woes. Dr Atkins' Diet Revolution was called "The High Calorie Way to Stay Thin Forever" and The Dunkan Diet was marketed as being the "2 steps to lose the weight" and the "2 steps to keep it off forever". As Theodore Dalrymple brilliantly summarises, “When a book’s title includes words such as ‘final’ or ‘ultimate,’ there are sure to be more books to follow”. And, sure enough, both of these books were re-released in various editions and had sister books created that attempted to make the diets simpler and more effective.
Understanding this, the 'clean eating' movement seems a lot less revolutionary. Just like every other diet book before it they insist on you relearning everything you thought you knew about health (you thought brown pasta was good for you? WRONG!) and are treated as the final solution to the ultimate problem. Basically then, they are just a repackaged version of the good ol' fad diet, in a cycle that's been doing the rounds for decades.
I can't help but wondering, what food group are we going to be told to abandon next?
You're spot on about how exclusive these diet books are. The idea that you can see progress by following only their advice is an excellent and evil strategy, since they can continuously advertise new literature, recipes and merchandise as the next step rather than just starting from scratch with another group. It's the sort of cyclical behaviour you'll see in fiction genres too- publishing and reading supernatural romance, then dystopia, then thrillers, was all the rage until suddenly it wasn't etc.
ReplyDeleteThe next food group? Everyone and their mum is on a keto diet at the moment, so we're back to carbs being removed and protein packed in.