Diets and dieting have concerned—and sometimes obsessed—human societies for centuries. The dieters' regime is about many things, among them the control of weight and the body, the politics of beauty, discipline and even self-harm, personal and societal demands for improved health, spiritual harmony with the universe, and ethical codes of existence. An A to Z encyclopedia, this innovative reference work spans many periods and cultures as the acclaimed cultural and medical historian Sander Gilman lays out the history of diets and dieting in a fascinating series of articles.

This volume is a reference tool presenting the historical, popular, and scientific context for diets and dieting from the ancient world to the present. The entries range from biography to large survey essays, which cover the historical and cultural context as well as the practice of dieting. The entries are truly international in scope, and present the context for contemporary dieting culture and celebrity within the longer historical view and across cultures.

Sample entries include:

Advertising

Anorexia

Robert Atkins

Bariatric Surgery

Bodybuilding

Brillat-Savarin

Christianity

China Today

Fast Food

Fat Positive

Gandhi

Globalization

Greek Medicine

John Harvey Kellogg

Medieval Diets

Paleolithic Diets

Vegetarianism