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.
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