First Obese People

When do you think the first obese people were around?

In ancient Rome they certainly had them. It would have been very easy to be obese then if you had the money with the huge banquets and being waited on by slaves all the time.

Maybe the first were in Ancient Eqypt.

Are you asking about the sociological standpoint or anthropological?

Body fat has been a survival aspect of humans from the very beginning of mankind.   It was necessary to build excess body fat in order to survive lean times.  Survival of the fittest, or 'fattest' if you will.

body fat was necessary; obesity wasn't.  i can't imagine that there were many obese cro-magnons.

Hee hee.....  picturing an obese cro-magnon sitting in his cave with his cute little loin cloth grunting for his minions to bring him more food!

Still, I imagine that gluttony (and related obesity) came about sooner then we think.  I'm sure there are some studies out on the Net somewhere.  All I know is that I must have an extra strong 'survival' gene! 

I know they found areally old Chinese lady preserved that was obese, she probably even died from problems relating to it.

what's "really old"?

"The tomb belonged to Xin Zhui, the wife of the ruler of the Han imperial fiefdom of Dai. Xin Zhui, the Lady of Dai, died between 178 and 145 BC, at around 50 years of age. The objects inside her tomb indicted a woman of wealth and importance, and one who enjoyed the good things in life. "

The full story can be found at:

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004 -08/25/content_368631.htm

Well, it looks like we can at least go back to anciet Egypt:

"In her (Joan P. Alcock) well-prepared contribution to the growing study of food in historical context, the UK author of Food in Roman Britain (2004) treats food cultivation and consumption by the ancient Roman, Egyptian, Greek, and Celt civilizations. Based on evidence including skeletal remains (some mummies show signs of obesity), Alcock reviews their agricultural practices, food preparation, eating and drinking habits and establishments, and concepts of diet and health. The book includes a timeline, list of the classical authors cited, maps, and food-related illustrations. "
—Reference & Research Book News May 2006

cool, madamq.  thanks!

it's not surprising that the association between wealth and obesity goes back as long as humans have had the former.  i'd be very surprised if obesity predated materialism.  before it was a display of affluence, it really served no purpose.

and while 150BC is awhile back, it's not long enough for evolution to have had a significant effect.  obesity has never been an adaptive trait.

interesting how times have changed, hey?  maybe the obesity-poverty link is nothing more than a sociological backlash against the obesity-wealth connection.

Venus figures date back to the Stone Age.  It goes to reason that they could not have been sculpted without having seen what an obese woman looks like.   I have read it theorized that obese women were a sign of wealth and status, being an indicator that the men in the womens' clan were such successful hunters/gatherers/traders that the women did not have to do anything except eat the plentiful food and have lots and lots of babies.

From what I recall from an anthropology class I took a while back, there is a theory that Venus figures like the ones in that Google page were sculpted by women as a self-portrait based on what they perceived their body to look like, in other words based on the way a woman looks down at her own body from above rather than a reflection in a mirror (since they had none, haha).

It makes sense because if you look down at your own body it gives a much different image (and less favorable image) than if you were to look in a mirror and see your reflection at a dead on angle. Since they are fertility statues it stand to reason that the figurines are of either pregnant women or women who have born many children, which would also add to the notion that a view from above would be less flattering due to enlarged breasts and sagging skin and therefore result in the figurines looking obese, even if the women weren't.

Just a thought...

this isn't based on anything other than my own reasoning, but it strikes me that  in places where and times when people were prey, there would be very few obese people.

because the obese people would be lunch.

Original Post by nomoreexcuses:

this isn't based on anything other than my own reasoning, but it strikes me that  in places where and times when people were prey, there would be very few obese people.

because the obese people would be lunch.

Close enough!

"I don't blame people for being obese," said neuroscientist Michael Cowley, who researches obesity and the brain at the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center in Beaverton, Ore. "The problem is we are not being chased around the prairies by lions anymore, and we have all this rich food now. There was no evolutionary pressure to be leaner."

"Now, food is plentiful, predators are scarce and parasites are mostly relegated to the developing world. And so, for most of us, the hormonal machinery that once helped ensure our survival now helps keep us fat. "

Source:  Frustrating 'need to feed' -- Scientists trace origins of obesity

Original Post by nomoreexcuses:

this isn't based on anything other than my own reasoning, but it strikes me that  in places where and times when people were prey, there would be very few obese people.

because the obese people would be lunch.

that's what i figure.  not to mention, if you tried to just hang around the cave, it wouldn't take long before your tribespeople kicked you off the island.  or whatever.

"and less favorable image"

You're examining this from a modern point of view. Back then there was no media to tell you that overweight = ugly. Overweight back then = able to bear children and survive.

Original Post by kaufmkk:

Hee hee.....  picturing an obese cro-magnon sitting in his cave with his cute little loin cloth grunting for his minions to bring him more food!

Still, I imagine that gluttony (and related obesity) came about sooner then we think.  I'm sure there are some studies out on the Net somewhere.  All I know is that I must have an extra strong 'survival' gene! 

 hahahah your cute "All I know is that I must have an extra strong 'survival' gene!  "

i have to disagree with the thought of people being obese in back then. you have to remeber alot of there food were natural, they didnt have the chemicals we do today to enhance food, and wreck our bodies. there banquets were fruits vegtables meats and wines. sure there still would have been large people but not what we have today. i very highly doubt they had obesesity and if they did only in rare cases and it could of been a medical condition.

I think it stands to reason that if you were a little chubbier, people assumed that you had wealth and good standing (i.e power). So it might have been to someone's benefit to have a little more weight on them.

When I look at my old class pictures from elementary school I see 25 kids that were all very skinny. Most of us were from middle class families and all of us ate some very tasty soul food which I know was unhealthy. That was before McDonald's and Microsoft came to town.

Original Post by xavier7:

When do you think the first obese people were around?

In ancient Rome they certainly had them. It would have been very easy to be obese then if you had the money with the huge banquets and being waited on by slaves all the time.

Maybe the first were in Ancient Eqypt.

 I'm sorry.I tried really hard to come up with an answer to this question that would show me to be well educated and intelligent but all I could think of was....

My former in-laws?   Again, sorry....it's late

Original Post by courtneylauren:

"and less favorable image"

You're examining this from a modern point of view. Back then there was no media to tell you that overweight = ugly. Overweight back then = able to bear children and survive.

 

Totally agree with you here coutneylauren!

Original Post by courtneylauren:

"and less favorable image"

You're examining this from a modern point of view. Back then there was no media to tell you that overweight = ugly. Overweight back then = able to bear children and survive.

 

 100% agree.