Historical Overview: Obesity. Essay - 1,534 words

Historical overview: Obesity. The problem of obesity is being greatly popularized today. There are a lot of books and internet cites dedicated to this problem and it looks like this problem is going overboard, that there is no stopping to the problems of obesity. What is obesity? Obesity is a condition in which the natural energy reserve of a mammal (such as a human), which is stored in fat, is expanded far beyond usual levels to the point where it causes health stress. Obesity in wild animals is relatively rare, but it is common in domestic animals like barrows and household pets who may be castrated, overfed and under exercised. A person with a BMI over 25.0 kg/m2 is considered overweight; a BMI over 30.0 kg/m2 is considered obese. A further threshold at 40.0 kg/m2 is identified as urgent morbidity risk.


The American Institute for Cancer Research considers a BMI between 18.5 and 25 to be an ideal target for a healthy individual (although several sources consider a person with a BMI of less than 20 to be underweight). The Belgian statistician created the BMI in the 19th century Adolphe Quetelet. The cut-off points between categories are occasionally redefined, and may differ from country to country. In June 1998 the NIH brought official US category definitions into line with those used by the WHO, moving the American 'overweight' threshold from BMI 27 to BMI 25. About 30m Americans moved from "ideal" weight to being 1-10 pounds "overweight" as a result. (2) Was the problem of obesity always such a big issue, and did it play such a big role in the historical times? For definite it will be never known, but a general overview with assumptions can be conducted. The Problems of Obesity in Ancient Greece It is a well known fact that the Greeks were famous for their beauty adoration.


This can be largely viewed in the art of that period. The concept of beauty was greatly controversial. It is said in most of the ancient writing that the inner beauty was greatly more admired than the outer one. Although there were some defined aspects of beauty. Obesity was not very much existent in the Ancient Greece. It is known from the ancient manuscripts that a lot of attention was given to the issues of sport and healthy eating in the society.


The basic diet of both Greeks and Romans was strongly, though not exclusively, vegetarian, comprising a variety of cereals, vegetables (green and dried), and fruit (fresh and dried) with wine (diluted with various proportions of water) as the only drink apart from water. In Greece the commonest meat was that of goats; in Italy it was that of pigs in the form of pork or bacon. Beef might be eaten occasionally after a sacrifice but the cow, like the ox, was a working animal and milk was normally obtained from sheep and goats. Olive oil took the place of butter and soap and was the major source of domestic lighting. Fish (both fresh and salted) and poultry also were featured in the diet of both peoples. (3) These facts show that the diet plan of these Ancient civilizations was not the one that would let a person gain a lot of access weight.


The concept of obesity and beauty are greatly connected. We can see the importance of keeping fir, being very important for being liked. Thus in Ancient Greece they had some ideas of beauty, that emphasized the fact that obesity was not a norm: slight changes in the male ideology of the perfect female body can be seen The Medici Venus was made earlier than the Capitoline, which was made towards the 2nd century BC, and shows a taller female image with wider shoulders, a less pronounced waist, and a more lush and full figure. However, the Capitoline Venus has, in comparison, rounder and larger breasts. This image of the smaller and slimmer Capitoline Venus with her noticeably larger chest is incongruous to the previously presented ideal of beauty, which is closer to that of the Medici Venus. But in fact, it should seem more familiar to modern society, as it is closer to the current ideal of beauty and body shape in the present world. (3) The Concept of Obesity in the Rubens epoch 18th century. While viewing the pictures of Rubens a contemporary person gets scared.


The women portrayed in his pictures are not just fat, they are obese (seriously overweight). During this period it was in fashion to be overweight. It was considered a norm to have an enormous double chin and very fat hands. At this time the aspect of health wa ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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Essay Tags: obesity, overweight, historical overview, ancient greece, diet

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