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Quiz about Fad Diets throughout History
Quiz about Fad Diets throughout History

Fad Diets throughout History Trivia Quiz


Throughout the ages, man has been aching for a magic bullet to help himself loose those extra pounds! Let's take a stroll through time and marvel at his many, and perhaps misguided attempts to tackle this ageless problem.

A multiple-choice quiz by mbovary. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
mbovary
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
310,186
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
520
Last 3 plays: Guest 73 (4/10), workisboring (2/10), Buddy1 (10/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Legend has it that William the Conqueror, desperate to lose weight, created the first "fad" diet which consisted of drinking nothing but this. Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. In 1727, an English Physician named Thomas Short reported that fat people tended to live near swampy areas. Based on this observation, what was his conclusion for those wanting to lose weight? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Around 1829, Presbyterian minister Sylvester Graham advocated a bland diet that excluded all milk, meat and spices. Why? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Horace Fletcher claimed he lost more than 40 pounds by chewing each mouthful of food 32 to 80 times before swallowing it. His revolutionary approach to weight loss earned him what nickname? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. In the early 20th century, what tiny parasite was sold in pill form promising weight loss for anyone brave enough to digest it? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. 1920's Arctic Explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson was a proponent of which all meat and fat diet? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. In 1961, Dr. Herman Taller wrote a controversial book advocating eating endless amounts of protein rich foods, as long as they were washed down with his safflower oil capsules. What was the name of this book? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. In 1978, Cardiologist Herman Tarnower published a book called "The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet", which became one of most popular fad diets in history.
How many calories are you allowed per day on the Scarsdale Diet?
Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. The Cabbage Soup Diet, which appeared in the 1980s, is still around today. You are allowed to eat which of the following foods while on this diet? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Ohhh, yuck! I just downed a mixture of Maple Syrup, Lemon Juice, and Cayenne Pepper. What fad diet have I succumbed to? Hint



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quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Legend has it that William the Conqueror, desperate to lose weight, created the first "fad" diet which consisted of drinking nothing but this.

Answer: Alcohol

Even in 1087, England's royalty was conscious about their appearance. William the Conqueror was no different, and had packed on the pounds in his later years. Apparently, he was having trouble riding a horse without injuring the poor beast, and the final straw occurred when France's King Phillip told him that he looked pregnant. William believed if he gave up food in favor of drinking nothing but alcohol he would eventually wake up one day and be thin. This story might be apocryphal. What we do know is that William, who was still significantly overweight, died after falling from his horse.

History does not mention that he was tipsy at the time. Apparently, he was so large the clergy could barely fit his body into the stone sarcophagus.
2. In 1727, an English Physician named Thomas Short reported that fat people tended to live near swampy areas. Based on this observation, what was his conclusion for those wanting to lose weight?

Answer: Move to a desert-dry climate.

Thomas Short's theory was published in "A Discourse Concerning the Causes and Effects of Corpulency."
There is no word on how well this theory was received, or if anyone actually took his advice.
3. Around 1829, Presbyterian minister Sylvester Graham advocated a bland diet that excluded all milk, meat and spices. Why?

Answer: Animal products and spices lead to impure thoughts of sex.

Graham believed that consuming animal byproducts caused a person to become lustful, which then in turn could cause diseases like epilepsy and tuberculosis. He also believed ketchup and mustard could cause insanity.

A key part of his diet included eating the whole-grain cracker he invented, which became known as the "Graham cracker."

The dietary reform that Graham had hoped for was only briefly successful with a small puritanical faction of the American public. The diet was, however, adopted by the administration of Oberlin College and imposed on its students for a couple of years. Off campus eating by students became very popular during this time.

Nabisco reworked Graham's original recipe making their version of the cracker sweet and delicious as opposed to Graham's, which has been tasteless and bland.
4. Horace Fletcher claimed he lost more than 40 pounds by chewing each mouthful of food 32 to 80 times before swallowing it. His revolutionary approach to weight loss earned him what nickname?

Answer: The Great Masticator

Horace Fletcher was a San Francisco art dealer who believed that chewing food until it was completely liquefied, and then spitting out any solid bits was the gateway to thinness.

Amazingly enough, this idea caught on in turn of the century America, and the technique became known as "Fletcherizing." Fans included novelist Henry James, John D. Rockefeller and cereal baron John Harvey Kellogg. Kellogg was so much the fan of Horace Fletcher's work, he wrote a song called "Chew, Chew."
5. In the early 20th century, what tiny parasite was sold in pill form promising weight loss for anyone brave enough to digest it?

Answer: Tapeworms

Yes, it is horrifying, but true. The weight loss industry did market pills containing "sanitized tapeworms" to help women lose weight and stay thin.
One hopes that perhaps the pills didn't actually contain tapeworms, but were sugar pills. Either way, tapeworm usage for weight loss was not a widespread phenomenon.

There is, of course, the famous legend that 1950's opera star Maria Callas used tapeworms to lose weight. While there is evidence that she did at one time lose 60 pounds, and she did at one time have a tape worm, there is no clear evidence that the two episodes were related.
6. 1920's Arctic Explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson was a proponent of which all meat and fat diet?

Answer: The Inuit Diet

Vilhjalmur Stefansson was a Canadian Arctic explorer and ethnologist. While living among the Inuit peoples of Arctic Circle he observed that for the most part, they only ate caribou, raw fish and whale blubber. And yet they seemed to be a perfectly healthy and hardy people. While they were with the Inuit, Stefansson and his other European companions changed their diet to match that of the natives and remained in excellent health.

Fascinated with his observations, Stefansson returned home and put himself on this diet for a year, under the supervision of doctors at New York's Bellevue Hospital.

This meat and protein diet concept would prove to be highly influential on diet gurus later on in the century.
7. In 1961, Dr. Herman Taller wrote a controversial book advocating eating endless amounts of protein rich foods, as long as they were washed down with his safflower oil capsules. What was the name of this book?

Answer: Calories Don't Count

Dr. Herman Taller was a Romanian born Obstetrician whose book became a smash success, selling more than 2 million copies. Unfortunately for him, however, his diet did not work and his safflower pills were worthless. He was eventually found guilty of mail fraud and conspiracy in 1967. He was fined and put on probation.
8. In 1978, Cardiologist Herman Tarnower published a book called "The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet", which became one of most popular fad diets in history. How many calories are you allowed per day on the Scarsdale Diet?

Answer: 1,000 calories

The Scarsdale diet is another low fat/ low carbohydrate diet, but differs from others because of its extremely low caloric allowance, and very structured 14 day menu plans.
This diet received a resurgence in popularity when its founder was murdered in 1980 by his scorned lover Jean Harris. The lurid details of their life together made for a sensational trial.
9. The Cabbage Soup Diet, which appeared in the 1980s, is still around today. You are allowed to eat which of the following foods while on this diet?

Answer: Unsweetened Fruit Juice (on the days when fruit is allowed)

The Cabbage Soup diet is an old stand-by for modern day fad dieters. It is set up in 7 day intervals, every day eating the cabbage soup, along with some other add on, like fruit, vegetables or a particular protein.

The weight comes off fast at first, but it is very difficult to stick to for more than a few weeks. Critics fret over its nutritional inadequateness.
10. Ohhh, yuck! I just downed a mixture of Maple Syrup, Lemon Juice, and Cayenne Pepper. What fad diet have I succumbed to?

Answer: The Master Cleanse

Also known as the Lemonade Diet, The Master Cleanse was invented by Stanley Burroughs and claims to cleanse your body of heavy metals, Candida and toxins. The Cleanse, if done twice a month, will supposedly increase the metabolism, burn fat and result in quick weight loss.
Its popularity usually waxes and wanes depending on which Hollywood Celebrities are on it.
Source: Author mbovary

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor WesleyCrusher before going online.
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