All History

Towards the latter end of 1850, the wife of Dr. Pecquet, of Paris, purchased my work on Obesity. Having read it, she spoke to her husband about it, who said that, like most medical men, he was persuaded that the only way to reduce corpulency, is to eat less than the system demands.

Madame Pecquet, then about sixty years of age, had long been troubled with excessive corpulency, and weighed two hundred and fifty pounds. She had, in consequence of this affliction, passed the greater part of the last eighteen years either in her arm-chair or in bed. According to some of the most celebrated physicians of Paris, and also of her husband, her disease at one time was said to be pulmonary catarrh—at another time, disease of the heart—and again, something else; till at length Madame Pecquet had no rest, day or night.

If she attempted to go to sleep in the horizontal position, she was immediately troubled with a rush of blood to the head, accompanied with the most distressing hallucinations, which utterly prevented her from sleeping. She was unable to take exercise on foot, even when her ailments allowed her any respite, owing to the excessive pain she experienced in the region of the kidneys, and the abundant perspiration of the head, which a walk of even a few steps was sure to induce. It was consequently impossible for her to go out, unless in a carriage. Those only who are unable to enjoy this pleasure, know how great a privation it is not to be able to take a walk on a fine day, and how wearisome it is to be compelled to make use of a carriage in order to enjoy the advantages of fresh air, or to move from place to place.

Madame Pecquet was so situated, and many a time she has said,—"Eighteen long years have I been in this condition! Eighteen years of suffering and misery, in spite of every medical aid which has been bestowed upon me!" Under these circumstances, we can readily understand how anxiously she must have sought a means of cure. One day, without the knowledge of her husband, she took a carriage, and called to consult me.

Those who believe as I do, that an excessive development of fat may induce and sustain a generally diseased condition of body, will readily admit that the diminution of excessive obesity is the only rational means of cure in such a case.

Impressed with this idea, Madame Pecquet called upon me, and placed herself under my care. I prescribed some medicine, which she took without the knowledge of her husband, who, although eating at the same table, did not perceive that she partook of less vegetables and ate a larger quantity of meat than usual. Having continued the treatment four months, Madame Pecquet said to her husband,—"I have been following the anti-obesic treatment, and weigh at the present time one hundred pounds less than I did before commencing it. Formerly I was confined to my arm-chair, in consequence of catarrh or something else. I could not walk fifty yards without stopping to take breath; and now I can go out every day if I please, when the weather is fine. Night, formerly so wearisome, is now a season of delightful and refreshing repose; and, in fine, I have recovered my health, after eighteen years of continued suffering."

I again met this lady last year, and found her in the enjoyment of perfect health. She had not regained her embonpoint, but was in all respects perfectly happy, and gratefully ascribed her recovery to my system of treatment. 

The following letter has been also received:

"Saint Dié, 24th Nov., 1850.

"Sir,—Having read your book on the treatment of obesity, I wish to ask if you will undertake my case, although living at a distance of three hundred miles from Paris. I am fifty years of age, and possessed of a vigorous constitution. Since I have retired from business, now ten years ago, I have steadily increased in corpulence; my present weight being one hundred and eighty-nine pounds. I am troubled with an affection of the heart, shortness of breath, and my legs swell, especially when not taking much exercise on foot. I am not fond of walking, since it induces great fatigue. My belly has become much enlarged, and I am greatly troubled with drowsiness. For breakfast I use coffee with milk, although I am not fond of it, but I find that it prevents headache, to which I am otherwise subject, &c. You will oblige me by sending the necessary instructions, if you can take charge of my case, by the bearer of this letter, together with such medicines as you may direct.

"Yours, &c.      K."

In answer to Madame K., I sent her the medicine, together with the necessary information. On the 25th of February I received a letter, from which the following extracts are made:—

"Your directions have been scrupulously observed for the past fifteen days. I take a daily walk in the mountains, and to-day was weighed. I have lost but four pounds: too small a reduction I fear; but perhaps due partly to my temperament. The medicine requires to be taken in larger doses, I think. Nevertheless I am well satisfied with the result thus far, being now free from those troublesome palpitations of the heart to which I have been hitherto subject."

The 9th of April following this lady wrote: "My legs do not swell as they used to do, and the palpitations have ceased. I am delighted with this good result of your method of treatment."

Nothing more was heard of Madame K. until the month of August in the following year. She then writes that in accordance with the advice of the medical men of Saint Dié, she, together with her family, went to take the waters of Plombières. That on her return her legs were again swollen, and that she suffered from palpitation of the heart, which gave rise to a choking sensation. She was desirous of again undergoing the anti-obesic treatment. On the 30th of September following she wrote that she had followed my instructions during the last three weeks, and had lost only four pounds in weight; but added, I have obtained a much more valuable result, and that is, the almost total release from my troublesome heart palpitation. I have not since heard from this lady, but I have no doubt that she has been once more cured of her palpitation, and that she is no longer troubled with swellings of the feet and legs. The loss of fat in this case has been attended with freedom from palpitation of the heart, from shortness of breath, and from swelling of the lower extremities. What explanation can be given as to the cause of these results? As to her ailments, did they arise from an excess of blood in the system, or was she suffering from cardiac disease? Physicians thought so and bled her, administered sedatives and alteratives, and restricted the diet of the patient. Still they did not cure her. On the other hand I recommended her food should consist of meat principally; that she should be allowed strong coffee and wine; which, together with the employment of alkaline remedies, reduced her fat and effected a cure. The following season she goes, together with her family, to the springs, and returns thence afflicted in the same way as before, and again my mode of treatment produces the same result.

It is manifest that this heart affection, this shortness of breath, depended upon obstruction to the heart's action, and not upon any excess of blood in the system, since I abstracted no blood, but on the contrary, administered stimulants, together with the use of full meat diet. The swollen limbs arose no doubt from a partial portal obstruction, and ceased when the reduction of fat was effected. It may be urged that the patient was better, or even cured, of heart palpitation, before she had lost much in weight. She had lost, however, four pounds; and four pounds of fat occupy a large space. The fat in a living body is fluid and very light. A pound, therefore, is a large quantity. When a person begins to lose his corpulency, the reduction takes place first in the interior of the body, and consequently there is a great improvement during the first six or eight days in the general health of obese patients, when treated in accordance with the principles now advocated.

A food budget published in the New York Tribune in 1851 allots two pounds of meat per day for a family of five. Even slaves at the turn of the eighteenth century were allocated an average of 150 pounds of meat a year. As Horowitz concludes, “These sources do give us some confidence in suggesting an average annual consumption of 150–200 pounds of meat per person in the nineteenth century.”

About 175 pounds of meat per person per year! Compare that to the roughly 100 pounds of meat per year that an average adult American eats today. And of that 100 pounds of meat, about half is poultry—chicken and turkey—whereas until the mid-twentieth century, chicken was considered a luxury meat, on the menu only for special occasions (chickens were valued mainly for their eggs). Subtracting out the poultry factor, we are left with the conclusion that per capita consumption of red meat today is about 50 pounds per person—or only a third to a quarter of what it was a couple of centuries ago.

Page 26:

"McClure and his men noted that these Inuit made extensive use of copper for making hunting implements and other tools: 

this knives, arrows, needles, and other cutting and piercing instruments were all made of copper--several speciments which were obtained--fashioned into shape entirely by hammering. No igneous power being had recourse to, it was surprising to see the admirable nature of the work, considering the means by which it was effected, and the form reflected great credit on their ingenuity and excellence in the adaptation of design. (Armstrong 1857:339-340).

The British and Eskimos then traded. One of the expedition members later noted:

They were all quite devoid of that mercenary spirit, and those strong thieving and other propensities so universal amongst the Esquimaux on the American coast[i.e. North Alaska]--the result of their contact with civilized man--being a few of the evils which invariably follow his footsteps over the world...They were quite ignorant that there existed any other people differing from themselves in manners and customs; and asked our party where they came from, and where their hunting ground was situated. Their entire occupation consisted of hunting and fishing, migrating to and from along this coast, fixing their temporary abode wherever success was most likely to attend their efforts; and appeared to be influenced by no other feeling than the acquistion of what was essential to their sustenance from one season to another, to afford them sufficient food and raiment for sustaining life and protecting them from the cold (Armstrong 1857:340)

The meeting--the first European contact and communication with this northernmost group of Copper Inuit--was brief. But from their written observations, it is clear that these explorers were extremely impressed with the Inuit's remarkable ability to survive in such a harsh climate, using ingenious tools and hunting implements made from the limited resources at their disposal. Since no trade items of southern manufacture had yet reached this isolated region of the Arctic, these people were totally independent and self-reliant. 

On the 12th of April, 1851, I received a letter from Mr. Roberts, of Tours, in which he says:—"I am twenty-seven years of age, and weigh two hundred and six pounds. I fear that my great corpulence, which is constantly on the increase, may prove exceedingly troublesome. Having read your book, I am resolved to give your method of treatment a fair trial. You will oblige by giving me an explicit and detailed statement as to what is necessary to be done, and by sending from Paris such medicines as may be necessary."

On the 22nd of the same month Mr. Roberts wrote as follows:—"I weighed two hundred and six pounds, and now weigh only one hundred and ninety-two. I measured forty-three inches in circumference, and now only thirty-one inches. I am delighted with the success which has attended your system of treatment, and am happy to be able to inform you of it. Accept my sincere thanks, for I am indebted to you for a condition which I despaired of ever again attaining. Yours truly,

"Roberts."

Madame d'Aries, a resident of Bilbao, in Spain, wife of the French Consul wrote to me on the 12th of May last:—"Following your directions, I have lost weight. Since my last two confinements the abdomen had remained unduly large: it is now much smaller. I feel lighter. I have always been able to walk without experiencing much fatigue. It was a great trouble, however, to move from my seat. A peculiar inward feeling, which was a source of great annoyance, has become almost imperceptible. I can go up stairs without bringing on shortness of breath, and the benefit derived is as evident to myself as it is visible to others."

To return to the cases of cure. Madam C., a landed proprietor, living in the Rue de la Concorde, at Paris, went to take the waters in Germany, in the year 1851. On her return, she made trial of my system, on account of excessive corpulence. Meeting with the usual success, she thought it would be of great advantage to a young lady, a friend, whom she had left behind her at the watering place, and who was then in bad health. This young person, about twenty-three years of age, was very fat, and irregular in her menstrual periods. She was of lymphatic temperament, very pale, and rarely partook of meat: her ordinary food consisted of vegetables, sweetmeats, cakes and sweet fruits; water was her principal beverage. At the pressing instance of Madam C., Miss C. visited Paris, in order to be under my care. 

After following my directions for a fortnight, her health was much improved. Her parents then came to Paris, and I continued in attendance on Miss C. for three months. At the expiration of this time, she returned with her parents to Brussels. She had lost much of her fat, and had become regular. She ate meat principally, both at breakfast and dinner, and drank wine. I may lay claim, in the case of this young lady, to have effected a complete change of temperament. With but trifling menstrual flow, and great pallor, she was gradually progressing to a state of obesity, which would have proved entirely destructive to health, which would have ended in a total suppression of the menses, and ultimately in death. But now, having overcome her obesity, the menstrual flow has become normal in quantity, the digestive powers have resumed their functional activity, so that she can partake of meat and wine, and in every respect her constitution is fully restored. Should she marry, she will in all probability have a family, which would have been very doubtful had she married while in the previous obese condition; and if she have children, her accouchements will be comparatively free of danger, and her sufferings much less; for it is well known that very corpulent females have more difficult labours than those of ordinary embonpoint; while the offspring of the latter are at the same time healthier. The same rule applies in the case of the human female as with other mammalia; when fat, conception is of more rare occurrence; and when they do conceive, they are very liable to miscarry. When, however, they go to the full period of gestation, the progeny of a very fat mother is almost always lean, and possesses little vitality. Moreover, the milk of a very fat mother is neither so abundant nor so nutritious as that of a moderately thin mother.

Madame Meuriot, an actress, then staying at Chatellerault, addressed me under date the 21st of August, 1851. Her letter is exceedingly lengthy and full of minutiæaelig;, that would be improper to lay before the public. But she informs me that her weight in the course of a single year had increased from one hundred and twenty to one hundred and seventy-five pounds. In order to retain her theatrical engagements, she determined to use every possible means to overcome this troublesome embonpoint. She took her food in quantity barely sufficient to sustain nature; made use of sea biscuit instead of bread that she might eat less. For some time past she has been taking daily forty drops of the tincture of iodine, under the direction of a physician, but without appreciable benefit. Every portion of the body was loaded with fat, and the lower part of the legs were swollen. Having met with my book and dreading the effects of the iodine upon her general health, she was anxious that I should advise her. I did so; and sent the medicine, together with necessary directions from Paris to Perpignau, where she was then staying. I received a letter from her on the 9th of October following, in which she says:—"I am happy to inform you that your treatment has been attended with the most satisfactory results. My legs are no longer swollen. I walk with greater ease than formerly, and my breathing is no longer oppressed. I am unable to say how much my weight has decreased, not having ready access to platform scales; but my gowns tell me that my size is less than it was, yet not as small as could be desired." 

In conclusion she wished to know whether she might continue the treatment a month or two longer, and if I thought so, to please send her the requisite medicine. I did so, and heard nothing further from Madame de Meuriot until the month of August in the following year. She was then on her way to fulfil an engagement at Lille, and called to see me. She expressed great delight in having got rid of her troublesome embonpoint, and said that she had not been afflicted with swelling of the legs since placing herself under my treatment. "But something has occurred which I did not in the least expect: since my corpulency has left me, I have become enceinte."

A letter from this lady, dated Lille, the 13th October last, begins thus:—"Since I last had the pleasure of seeing you, on the occasion of my departure from Paris, I have become fully satisfied that I am in the family way, and have been so for the past eight months." My advice was requested on some points having reference to her then condition.

The preceding facts tend to shew that reduced corpulency is favourable to conception.

Mr. G. Chauvin, a lawyer, living at Castellane, in the department of the Lower Alps, owing to his increasing corpulency, was subject to great inconvenience when speaking in court. He adopted my mode of treatment, and in one of his letters, dated November, 1851, he says: "I have followed your directions, which have effected the result I was led to expect. My family have expressed their astonishment at the sudden and extraordinary diminution of size. But it has been effected without the slightest bad symptom: the bodily functions have been duly discharged, and the treatment has been unattended with inconvenience or danger, &c."

The principal constituents of fat, therefore, are carbon and hydrogen. Again, chemistry teaches that all food not consisting of flesh, such as vegetables, farinacea, sugars, &c., resemble fat, being chiefly composed of carbon and hydrogen; and, still more, that fat exists, already formed, in some vegetable substances, as oil of olives, oil of nuts, and oleaginous seeds. If, therefore, we introduce into the system substances rich in carbon and hydrogen, we must make fat as inevitably as the bee makes honey from its elements contained in the flowers.

On the other hand, we learn also from chemistry, that one of the principal constituents of meat is nitrogen, an element which does not enter into the composition of fat. Food consisting chiefly of meat must be less productive of fat than food mainly composed of carbon and hydrogen, such as vegetables, &c.

Distinguished chemists have endeavoured to shew in what manner the development of fat takes place in the animal economy. A paper was read by me before the Academy of Sciences, at Paris, on the 15th December, 1851, from which the following extract is made:

"Three different opinions are entertained by distinguished chemists, who have given attention to this subject. The first, that of Dumas, maintains that the fatty matter of the body is derived solely from substances analogous to fat in composition, which pre-exist in the food. The second opinion, that of Liebig, is to the effect that the formation of fat is due to a modification of those ternary compounds which constitute so large a proportion of the food of animals. The third opinion suggests that fat may arise in consequence of some special fermentation taking place in the stomach.

"Numerous experiments have been made, in order to determine which of these opinions is correct; but it may be safely said that no satisfactory conclusion has been arrived at.

"In the first place, the experiments have never been conducted under circumstances favourable to the formation of a correct opinion. It is obviously of the first importance, when conducting experiments of this nature, that the food should be supplied so as not to interfere with the tone of the general health, considered morally as well as physically. We can conceive that the deprivation of liberty, in the case of an animal usually in the enjoyment of freedom, may render the experiment of dubious import. Although man is omnivorous, it is impossible that any one can submit, for a great length of time, to live upon one kind of food only, without suffering a sense of loathing.

"What inference can be drawn from those experiments, made for the purpose of ascertaining whether sugar is capable of producing fat, when they were made upon pigeons and doves, which were fed solely upon this substance; at one time being deprived altogether of water, and at another time allowing them as much as they chose to drink?

"Chemists wished to know if butter could engender fat, and doves have been gorged with it, being deprived of all other food during the few days that the experiment lasted; at the end of which time they died, of course excessively lean; and the experimentalists thence concluded that butter does not produce fat. What an extraordinary idea, to feed a granivorous animal upon butter solely, in order to test the question referred to! This experiment forms the subject of a paper written by me, and inserted in the proceedings of the Academy of Sciences, for the year 1844.

"Other experiments upon animals, conducted likewise by men of science, are less open to criticism than the one just referred to; yet it must be confessed that no safe inference could be drawn from them. I am about to submit a few established facts, which may throw some light upon the question as to the cause of the development of fat.

"For several years past I have given much consideration to the reduction of corpulency in cases where it interfered with the comforts of life, and I can reckon by thousands those who have followed my instructions. I have established it as a fact, without a single exception, that it is always possible to diminish obesity, by living chiefly upon meat, and partaking only of a small quantity of other kinds of food. Make use of whatever medicine you please, it is impossible to obtain the same result in the case of a person partaking indiscriminately of everything which may be placed upon the table. There is yet another condition, without which success is impossible; that is, to absorb but little fluid, whether in the shape of soup or drink, or by means of the bath. A moist atmosphere is favourable to the development of fat: we increase in weight in wet weather.

"I have thousands of cases on record, in support of my statement. Persons from all parts of the world, who have followed my teachings, have experienced a decrease of their corpulence."

The paper upon this subject ended by saying, that according to my opinion, fat might be assimilated by either of the three several methods set forth in the beginning of the essay, one not forbidding the action of the others. I begged to be acknowledged by the Academy as the first who had established the fact that, in order to reduce corpulence without interfering with the general health, it is necessary to live chiefly upon meat, avoiding an excess of vegetable and aqueous food, or of any of which the basis is carbon or hydrogen.