Only an estimated 17 percent of obese or overweight Americans lose weight and maintain the weight loss, according to researchers at Penn State College of Medicine. Today's obesity epidemic is unlike anything previously encountered in history. Food scarcity plagued society until the 19th century when farm and food processing machinery, as well as improved transportation and storage, made food more widely and consistently available. Previously, obesity represented wealth, but in the 20th century, particularly following World War II, overweight was linked to diabetes and cardiovascular disease and the condition became a diagnosed disorder.
Turn of the 20th Century
When overweight and obesity became a health issue in the early 20th century, manufacturers capitalized on the change and began offering weight-loss products. Many of them were illogical because the advent of nutritional science was still in progress. Obesity soap was one product introduced to consumers.
Technology and Weight
The invention of the trolley car, automobile and household machines reduced the energy expenditures of Americans in the early to mid-20th century. The development of nutritional science identified the calorie and began to popularize products to appeal to the growing obesity epidemic attributed to the reduced activity level of Americans.
Weight-Loss Marketing
Manufacturers began to market foods based on "low-calorie" and "low-fat" claims after World War II. Diet books hit the market; publishers released more than 100 during the 1950s. Weight Watchers and Overeaters Anonymous developed dieting support groups that for the first time offered affordable, trustworthy diet and nutrition advice to the average American consumer.
Modern-Day Dieting
Today, an estimated 50 million Americans attempt weight loss each year. Weight-loss products, trends, diet program proliferate in society and most end in dieting failure. The problems that initiated obesity in the early 20th century still exist today, such as technology reducing exercise and movement and overabundance of convenient foods. The inability for Americans to control their weight is not related to a lack of services or opportunities. It may be related to underlying issues that continue to elude weight-loss efforts.
References
- ScienceDaily.com; Americans Struggle With Long-Term Weight Loss; September 2010
- "Advances in Chronic Kidney Disease"; History of Obesity, or How What was Good Became Ugly and Then Bad; G. Eknoyan; October 2006
- Library of Congress; Weight Lost Through the Ages: Where We're Learned and Where We're Going; Ellen Granberg; January 2011
- Colorado State University Extension Service; Weight-Loss Products and Programs; J. Anderson; December 2008
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