Dieting fads through the years

Desperate to shed the festive pounds? History shows you are in good company. But you might think twice before plumping for certain diets from the past, says Robert Hume.

After an overindulgent Christmas, losing weight is now on many people’s minds. But worry not: Help is at hand. Slim-down smoothies and foods that burn fat promise to “turbo-charge” weight loss and “revolutionise your body from the inside out”— whatever that means.

Dieting tends to be thought of as a new fad, but that’s far from being the case. Rumour has it that around 1910, US president William Taft, who tipped the scales at 152kg, embarked on a sugar-free diet after getting stuck in the White House bathtub.