The rise of obesity in Europe: A twentieth century food history

Abstract

Twentieth century Europe went through a dramatic transition from low income populations experiencing hunger and nutritionally inadequate diets, to the recent era of over-consumption and growing numbers of overweight and obese people. This first book-length treatment of the history of obesity on an European scale sets out the chronology of change from the uncertainties before and during World War II and identifies international attempts to create an ideal body weight model to assist food aid programmes. It brings together a range of case studies from European countries, including the three principal economies of Britain, France and Germany, together with contrasting developments in Austria, Czechoslovakia, Norway, Russia, Slovenia and Spain. The conclusion evaluates these case studies and surveys international action ranging from postwar recovery programmes to the present-day monitoring of obesity. By examining the trends in food history, this team of leading experts offers the historical context to these vitally important contemporary issues and an explanation of how and why this transition has occurred.