[A trip through the history of obesity]

Abstract

The origins of obesity can be traced back at least 25 000 years. In the Stone Age, in the Middle Ages, and in the 17th century overweight indicated prosperity,power, and fertility, but already Hippocrates described obesity as a disease in the Antique. The first academic papers dealing with adiposity were published in the times of the Industrial Revolution.In the 19th century a pharmaceutical treatment boom against overweight emerged- people had to deal with quackery and dangerous remedies like amphetamines that flooded the market.Bariatric surgery was introduced in the 20th century- to days gold standard is the RYGB operation. Dealing with morbid obesity and its comorbidities is nowadays one of the serious problems in the field of public health.