Dieting has not always been a major concern throughout human history as getting enough calories was more important for our ancestors. The first recorded person to go on a weight loss diet was King William I of England in the 11th century, who was known to be extremely overweight. His liquid diet consisted mainly of alcohol, which helped him lose weight but ultimately led to his death. In the late 19th/early 20th century, Horace Fletcher promoted chewing food extensively as the key to weight loss and health in what became known as Fletcherism. Jean Nidetch started the first Weight Watchers group in the 1960s to help herself and friends lose weight through group support. In 1964, Robert Cameron launched The Drinking Man's

1. The History of diets Heather Rocca

2. Dieting wasn’t really a concern for our ancestors. For them, the main problem was getting morecarbs, fat, and sugar into their systems, not less. That’s why, in all of human history, the first person to go on a recorded weight-loss diet was England’s first king, William I. Better known as William the Conqueror, by all accounts, he’s the fattest man to lead a major country William adopted a liquid diet; with “liquid” here meaning “liquor.” For the better part of a year, the king attempted to subsist on nothing but alcohol. Amazingly, this worked better than you might expect and, eventually, he was even able to get back in the saddle. Unfortunately, this also led to his undoing. He soon died after losing weight, this being the first failed diet.

3. 20thCentury America Started the first fad diet, Horace Fletcher, a businessman and self-taught nutritionist who became the 20th century’s first diet guru. Fletcher’s diet was really more of an overall plan for how people ought to eat, whether they were fat or not. From 1895 until 1919, Fletcherism was a part of the American psyche, with believers claiming that it would help you lose weight, keep your teeth clean and healthy, and save you money on food you’d have otherwise wasted in rushed, careless eating. For best weight-loss results, Fletcherites were also urged to eat only when they were really, really hungry and to never eat when their emotions were running high. If they followed these rules, and adequately chewed everything, they could eat whatever they wanted.

4. Weight Watchers Started in the small Queens, New York home of Jean Nidetch in the early 1960s.As a young wife in her 20s, Nidetch decided to finally get control of her body, but even after losing 20 pounds in 10 weeks using a diet sponsored by the New York City Board of Health, she found she couldn’t seem to stick to the plan in the long term. And with the support from her friends, they all starting dieting together noticing the results were higher with all of the support. Nidetchstarted several different groups around the New York metro area, finally incorporating her fledgling business in May of 1963.

5. Drinking Diet In 1964, Robert Cameron launched the one diet we would personally be ecstatic to follow. Combining his triple loves (booze, gourmet food, and weight loss), Cameron launched what he christened “The Drinking Man’s Diet,” aiming it at men overweight, such as himself. At its core, The Drinking Man’s Diet was a pre-Atkins take on the low-carbohydrate plan. The Drinking Man’s Diet and Cameron himself are still going strong. The pamphlet now costs $4.95 on Amazon.com while Cameron remain svelte at 96 years old.

6. Information From: http://www.neatorama.com/2010/09/09/the-history-of-diets/