'Healthmania' : diet, supplements and the pursuit of health in America and Britain, c. 1945-1980
This thesis explores the history of healthy eating in the mid-to-late twentieth century, providing insight into the roots of contemporary anxieties about healthy lifestyles, dieting, and the prevention of chronic disease in the UK and the US. This thesis argues that during the post-war decades, British and American societies experienced a fundamental shift that enabled new forms of cultural preoccupations about health and diet to flourish. This shift created an obsession within the media, science and society about safeguarding good health, youth and vitality, especially through dieting, specific foods, and the ingestion of supplements. This shift was enabled by the simultaneous promotion and representation of healthy eating as a solution to chronic diseases, by neoromantic notions of health, by anxieties about modern living, but also by the growth of ideas around individual agency and responsibility for health. Drawing on a rich source base of self-help books, newspapers and magazines, advertisements, medical journals and comic books, chapters of this thesis explore the ways in which contemporary obsessions about diet and health were promoted, reported on and experienced in everyday life. Examining health
Kefalas, N.
Food ; diet ; nutrition ; healthy eating ; supplements ; vitamin ; comic book ; popular culture
'Healthmania' : diet, supplements and the pursuit of health in America and Britain, c. 1945-1980. This thesis explores the history of healthy eating in the mid-to-late twentieth century, providing insight into the roots of contemporary anxieties about healthy lifestyles, dieting, and the prevention of chronic disease in the UK and the US. This thesis argues that during the post-war decades, British and American societies experienced a fundamental shift that enabled new forms of cultural preoccupations about health and diet to flourish. This shift created an obsession within the media, science and society about safeguarding good health, youth and vitality, especially through dieting, specific foods, and the ingestion of supplements. This shift was enabled by the simultaneous promotion and representation of healthy eating as a solution to chronic diseases, by neoromantic notions of health, by anxieties about modern living, but also by the growth of ideas around individual agency and responsibility for health. Drawing on a rich source base of self-help books, newspapers and magazines, advertisements, medical journals and comic books, chapters of this thesis explore the ways in which contemporary obsessions about diet and health were promoted, reported on and experienced in everyday life. Examining health
diet supplement pursuit health america britain explore history healthy eating provide_insight root contemporary anxiety healthy lifestyle diet prevention chronic disease argue post war british_american society experience fundamental shift enable new_form cultural preoccupation health_diet flourish shift create within medium science society safeguard good health youth vitality especially diet specific food supplement shift enable simultaneous promotion representation healthy eating solution chronic disease notion health anxiety modern living also growth idea around individual agency responsibility health drawing rich_source base self_help book newspaper magazine advertisement medical journal comic book explore_way contemporary diet_health promote report experienced everyday_life examining health