Obesity is largely, no pun intended, caused by prosperity and modern life. Overeating is an economic luxury. Our lifestyle, our diet and our weight is driven by our own particular needs and preferences, the availability of food and our level of physical activity, and our genetics, all combined with the marketing skills of food companies and the ingredients they use. I have no idea what Marx or other social theorists would have said about the relationship between need, excess, profit, health and fat. Add "body image" to the mix and you have a big plate of interlocking, controversial and much debated situations which involve science, medicine, fashion, nutrition, psychology, beauty…It really is too much for me to address.
The diet industry is huge. Billions of dollars. The fitness industry is huge. Billions of dollars. The fast food industry, the health industry, the advertising industry…boggling in the billions.
Anyway, I'm having pizza tonight, and fully intend to maintain the average American male rough guideline…since I stopped aggressive running and working out, years ago, I have been adding exactly ten pounds a decade. I don't have a weight problem, but I do have health problems. Lots of them. High cholesterol despite being a stone vegetarian 30 solid years, but the land of plenty has given me so much dairy, sugar and carbohydrates…there is plenty of room to be unhealthy without eating animals.
Anyway, this is all to place in context the interesting drawings above. Which came from an estate of a woman who ran a "slenderizing salon" in the 1950s. I suppose they were rough drafts for an intended advertising campaign, or intended promotional activities…maybe an amateur cartoonist suggesting ideas for a brochure.
Some depict arcane and discredited techniques. I really don't think one can "shake off" pounds with a belt thing, or "reduce hips" with a contraption depicted here. The draft of the intended "slogan" is interesting, though a bit harsh.
'LOVE IS BLIND TO ANYTHING BUT FAT"
That is not true at all, but it might drive some worried customers to the door. "Slenderizing" is such a strange word.
Group of drawings for a "Slenderizing Salon" circa 1950 Collection Jim Linderman
Browse and Order Jim Linderman Books and Ebooks ($5.99 each) HERE at Blurb.com
UPDATE:
FOLLOWING WAS JUST RECEIVED FROM A LOYAL FOLLOWER.....
To live longer, he concluded, people
should start thin and then gain about six pounds a decade beginning in their
early 40s. That advice went against the prevailing wisdom, which held
that the most healthful way to age was to maintain the same weight throughout
adulthood.
“For some reason the idea has grabbed us that the best
weight throughout the life span is that of a 20-year-old,” Dr. Andres said in a
1985 interview with The New York Times. “But there’s just overwhelming evidence
now that as you go through life, it’s in your best interests to lay down some
fat.”
-Your chubby
pal
