Fad diets certainly aren’t a 21st-century obsession. In fact, they were a popular way for people throughout the 20th century to slim down and improve their health. Though much has changed since then – including what we know about dieting and weight loss – many of the popular fad diets we follow today share similarities with those followed in the past.
The early 1900s
Early 20th-century diets emphasized low-carbohydrate and no-sugar diets
- Most popular was the Banting diet, invented by undertaker William Banting in 1863
- Home weighing scales became common, allowing people to easily monitor their weight
- The 1920s saw the emergence of the feminine ideal of the “New Woman”, with her slim, androgynous outline, coupled with women’s increased spending power
1950s and 60s
An explosion of commercial weight loss solutions – all in the name of cultivating a slim, beautiful body
- Focus turned to portion sizes and low calorie diets
- The three-day-liquid diet from 1968 suggested readers only consume two eggs, two pints of fresh milk, juice from two oranges, and one dessert spoonful of olive oil
- This was to help followers “forget sweetness”
70s and 80s
Popular weight loss regimes became more than just slimming diets
- The F plan diet was one of the most popular in this era, emphasizing eating high fibre and low calories
- At the end of the 20th century, diets such as Atkins or the south beach diet returned to Banting’s emphasis on cutting carbs for weight loss
- Despite the knowledge we now have about losing weight through dieting, fad diets continue to be popular
