Dieting

Dieting is the practice or habit of eating (and drinking) in a regulated fashion, usually with the aim of losing weight. It is also used in some cases to gain weight or to regulate the amounts of certain nutrients entering the body. It usually involves a non-traditional diet.

History

The practice of dieting in order to lose weight is ancient in its origins. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, physicians and patients regulated their food carefully, in order to prevent disease. The scientific classification of foods was broken down into proteins, carbohydrates, starches and lipids. Doctors and scientists began experimenting with targeted diets in the 19th century.

Related Topics:
Protein - Carbohydrate - Starch - Lipid

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William Banting is one of the first people known to have successfully lost weight by dieting, circa 1863, by targeting carbohydrates. (The low carbohydrate diet, marketed today as the Atkins Diet, remains popular today.)

Related Topics:
William Banting - 1863 - Low carbohydrate diet - Atkins

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