TREATMENT 163 



authors, with great self -laudation, as the product of their own ingenuity, may 

 be referred to very ancient sources. 



First, then, as the earliest of the modern methods of treatment of obesity, 

 the " no-fat cure " must be mentioned. This treatment prohibits the eating 

 of fat, on the principle that under all circumstances fat will produce fat. The 

 type of this is the so-called " Banting cure." Banting, a very corpulent Eng- 

 lishman, who lost his fat by this method under the treatment of his physician, 

 Harvey, has made himself and his cure widely celebrated. Certainly it is to 

 his credit that he described his disease and his treatment in a very charming 

 manner. This made obesity cures popular for the first time, but they were 

 in practice long before Banting's time. A Parisian physician. Dr. Leon, in 

 the year 1839, was the first to translate and annotate the work of the English 

 physician, Wadd. This book treated of corpulence and its cure, and at the 

 same time emphasized the fact that fat people must learn to endure thirst as 

 much as possible. Leon appropriated the ancient teaching of Pliny, to which 

 I shall revert later. His views, however, did not appear to meet with general 

 approval. Much greater publicity was attained by the methods of the Eng- 

 lish physician, Thomas K. Chambers. He prohibited most strictly the use 

 of fats and sugar as well as starch in the form of potatoes ; he limited decid- 

 edly the eating of bread, and permitted only very small quantities of fiuids. 



I shall here quote two of Chambers's diet-tables; it is obvious that the 

 first is much more strict than the second. The conclusion may be drawn 

 from these tables that the enforcement of such strict rules met with great 

 opposition on the part of the patient. Perhaps, too. Chambers himself found 

 that too great a limitation of N-free foods is not well borne by patients. 



1. Thos. K. Chambers, " Corpulence or Excess of Fat in the Human Body," London, 

 1850, p. 126. 



Breakfast: Dry, toasted bread, or, better, ship biscuit; if severe muscular exercise 

 is contemplated, a small piece of lean meat is also permitted. 



Midday meal (one o'clock) : Some meat (without fat) ; with this stale bread or crack- 

 era, or a small quantity of maccaroni ( cooked soft with some French mustard or stewed 

 fruit), or some cracker pudding. Fluids may only be taken one-half hour after a meal. 



Later in the day if a sensation of weakness appear, a piece of biscuit and a glass 

 of water, otherwise no solid food is permitted ; before going to bed a cup of gruel or a 

 baked apple is allowed. Chambers believes ten ounces (= 300 grams) of solid food to be 

 sufficient, but prescribes a small quantity of malt-extract at meal-time more eflfectually 

 to quiet hunger. 



2. Chamhers, " Lectures on Corpulence," London, 1864, p. 542. 



Breakfast (to be taken early) : Two lamb chops carefully freed from fat, broiled or 

 stewed, and ship biscuit. By way of variation a pigeon, game, or fish m corresponding 

 amount. As fluid: Soda water, or, even better, ordinary water, perhaps a. cup of tea 

 without milk made in the Russian style with a thick slice of lemon. . , , ■■ 



Lunch (second breakfast) : The same solid foods. Fluid: a glass of claret and 

 Burgundy, half and half, with water. t> ■, i i i, ^ 



Dinner (best about six o'clock) : Soup and fish are to be avoided. Boiled lamb and 

 beef are to form the principal constituents of diet. With this some biscuit with vegeta- 

 bles rich in chlorophyl and starch, such as cabbage, lettuce, spinach, beans, and celery 

 in small amounts; no potatoes. Sweets, eggs, and beer are to be avoided hke poison. 

 Next to water, claret is the best drink. Champagne is the worst. 



Evening: A cup of tea in the Russian style, or >. glass of ice- water, or, better, a 

 glass of soda water or ordinary water. 



