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Diet culture emerged in the 1920s, when calorie counting was invented, cigarettes were marketed as weight loss aids, and thinness became associated with moral virtue for the first time in American history.

Discover how the birth of modern diet culture 100 years ago created patterns we're still repeating today.

Main Takeaways:

• Dr. Lulu Hunt Peters invented calorie counting in 1918, selling 2+ million copies of the first diet bestseller
• Lucky Strike's "Reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet" campaign increased cigarette sales 300% by targeting weight-conscious women
• The moral dimension of dieting (connecting food choices to character and virtue) started in the 1920s and persists today
• Bizarre 1920s fads (grapefruit diets, tapeworm pills, vibrating belts) reveal humanity's eternal search for effortless weight loss shortcuts
• Energy balance remains the core principle, but now we understand the many other nutrition and lifestyle components that matter
• The desire for quick fixes is deeply human but misleading... sustainable success comes from embracing fundamentals

Episode Resources:

• Join Wits & Weights Physique University for $27/month - get your custom nutrition plan built for free when you use this exclusive podcast listener link: bit.ly/wwpu-free-plan
• Get Chef's Foundry P600 Ceramic Cookware - 50% off at witsandweights.com/chefsfoundry

Timestamps:

2:37 - Dr. Lulu Hunt Peters, calorie counting pioneer
6:42 - Cigarettes vs. sweets campaign
9:30 - Bizarre 1920s fads (grapefruit diet, tapeworms, and vibrating belts)
12:44 - What the 1920s got right about weight loss
15:18 - 3 major mistakes that persist today
19:17 - Why we still seek the same quick fixes 100 years later
22:21 - Sustainable fundamentals vs. magic solutions

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