Genesis of a national plague: How modern America's obesity epidemic began in the 1950s and how charting the weight loss struggles of a 205lb aspiring nurse helped bring the problem to the forefront


More than six decades before First Lady Michelle Obama launched her Let's Move initiative to help fight the obesity epidemic, the problem of excess weight has become a part of the national conversation, with publications especially focusing on women’s struggles to shed the pounds.

One of those publications was LIFE Magazine , which ran an article in March 1954 titled 'The Plague of Overweight.'

The story, which in part followed the weight loss challenges faced by 205-pound Dorothy Bradley, 31, originally from Tennessee, began with a sentence that would not have been out of place in a 2013 news report: 'the most serious health problem in the U.S. today is obesity.'

Big problem: A 197-pound Dorothy Bradley was photographs for a LIFE Magazine article about obesity self-consciously leaving a locker room to go for a swim in 1949

Staying toned: In gym in New York, Bradley wearing a sweatsuit was photographed exercising to avoid 'flabbiness'

LIFE wrote at the time that some 5 million Americans are medically considered obese, weighing at least 20 per cent more than normal and having a mortality rate one-and-a-half times higher than their slimmer, healthier peers.

The article went on to list some of the medical problems caused by excess weight, including diabetes, kidney and bladder maladies, and complications during pregnancy and surgery.

For the magazine, Miss Bradley has become a poster child of an ever-expanding class of Americans careening toward a health crisis caused by overeating and lack of exercise.

In a desperate bid to attain a smaller waistline and slimmer figure, Miss Bradley, who had been tipping the scales at 205lbs since high school, invited LIFE to document her battle of the bulge, which began in 1949 when she was about 26 years old.



Shopping trip: Embarrassed at a store because she wears a size 40, Dorothy tries on a new dress as a friend points out that dieting has reduced her waistline by two sizes

Food envy: A photo taken after Dorothy had lost 40lbs shows her longingly staring at a slimmer woman enjoying a large milkshake while she herself sips on a sugar-free lemonade

Photos that were taken as part of the project, some of which had never been published before, have been recently released on LIFE's website.

A poignant, intimate black-and-white photo depicts the 5 foot 5 Dorothy reluctantly stepping out of a locker room at the beach sporting a large one-piece bathing suit.

Another image in the series shows the woman looking unhappy while trying on a matronly, unfaltering size 40 dress in a clothing store.

LIFE photographer Martha Holmes also shadowed Miss Bradley as she began her fitness regimen, performing grueling exercises at a New York City gym.

A telling image taken after Dorothy had managed to lose some 40lbs shows her longingly staring at a much slimmer woman enjoying a large goblet of milkshake while she herself sips on a sugar-free lemonade.



Happy ending: Bradley, now 50lbs lighter, shows off her svelte figure in a strapless gown as she dances with an officer at the Navy Ball

Finally, Miss Bradley, now 50lbs lighter, is seen dancing with a dashing officer at a Navy Ball in a white, strapless gown showing off her new svelte figure.

The article explained that after shedding the pounds, she gained it all back. For Dorothy, however, the story had a happy end since by the time of the magazine’s publication, she managed to lose and keep off just under 70lbs, and even got a job as a head nurse.