Obesity: Historical Overview: Introduction of a Moral Dimension: 1920s

During the Roaring Twenties weight consciousness acquired a new intensity. In Fat History: Bodies and Beauty in the Modern World (1997), the social historian Peter Stearns suggests that this increasing preoccupation during the 1920s was related to increased prosperity, consumerism, and sexual permissiveness. It seemed as if some social restraint was required to balance excess and luxury. For the first time, weight control took on a moral dimension as Americans struggled with guilt over self-indulgence.