The weight loss industry boomed in the 1980’s and here’s what happened.

For the entirety of recorded history, humans have been preoccupied with the notion of beauty. The styles, body-types, and looks that define “ideal beauty” have shifted countless times, but the need to identify and strive for a particular look has persisted. Another reality that strings along through time is most people don’t actually look anything like the “ideal,” nor will they ever! However, if true love, companionship, success, acclaim, and wellbeing came from reaching a physical ideal, the human race would not have survived up until this point. It is simply untrue that you need to achieve physical perfection to be happy.

In the 1960’s and 70’s, a more slender body-type started to replace the buxom curves of the decades before. In the 1980’s, the weight loss industry exploded. Spending on diets, diet products, weight loss programs and other diet culture increased and in 2015 Americans spent $60 billion dollars on the weight loss industry. However, as is made clear in this chart, Americans kept getting fatter and fatter, despite spending more and more on weight loss.