For more than 100 years, diet culture has shaped how we eat, move and measure ourselves. Here’s a look at the methods we’ve tried over time, and the pressure that’s never really gone away.
1930s to 1940s: The Birth of the Fad Diet
Modern diet culture officially entered the chat in the 1930s with the Grapefruit Diet, which promised fat loss simply by eating half a grapefruit before every meal. Calorie counting had already made its debut in 1917, courtesy of Dr. Lulu Hunt Peters and her best-seller Diet & Health, and by the 1940s, American women were sold the idea that willpower was everything. “Over the past century, body ideals have changed dramatically. Fuller figures celebrated in the early 1900s were replaced with waif-like silhouettes of the ‘90s,” says Orange, CA plastic surgeon Justin West, MD. “The current trend seems to favor a more muscular, athletic ideal versus the extremes we have seen in the past. Today’s aesthetic norms may be broader and more inclusive, but the pressure to conform remains just as intense.”
1950s to 1970s: Scales + Spiritual Cleansing
In the mid-century, diet culture was everywhere, from “reducing salons” with body wraps and weigh-ins to housewife-targeted ads for vibrating belts and appetite-suppressing pills. Hollywood enforced strict beauty standards, mandating stars like Judy Garland to diet to stay thin. Audrey Hepburn and Twiggy popularized the ultra-thin ideal, while the macrobiotic movement emerged, promoting balance and whole foods over deprivation.
1980s: SlimFast + Sweat
By the 1980s, weight loss had become full-fledged pop culture. Richard Simmons workouts, Jane Fonda’s aerobics tapes and a sea of leotards and leg warmers transformed living rooms into personal fitness studios. Dieting was now big business. Programs like Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers offered structure, while SlimFast promised results in a can: “a shake for breakfast, a shake for lunch…” And then there was Oprah, famously wheeling out 67 pounds of fat on live television to mark her liquid diet success. Nutritionist Jennifer Hanway says she tried the majority of trends up until her 30s, including extreme calorie restriction, low-fat, Atkins and the Dukan Diet. “None of them worked, and they all left me in a worse state metabolically,” she adds. “Professionally, I’ve seen women bounce between fads, often ending up more confused and metabolically imbalanced than before.” It was the decade that taught us how to diet, and how to do it over and over again.
1990s to early 2000s: From Low-Fat to Lap Bands
The ’90s were defined by quick fixes and serious medical interventions. It ushered in the fat-free era, marked by SnackWell’s cookies, “lite” yogurts and the arrival of olestra-laced chips, all fueled by a culture that treated dietary fat like a moral failing. Then came the carb backlash, as Atkins and South Beach made bread the new enemy. Phen-Fen, a prescription drug, led the diet pill craze, followed by TrimSpa and Hydroxycut, until serious side effects and FDA interventions pulled many off the market. At the same time, bariatric surgery became more common, evolving from complex gastric bypasses to less-invasive procedures. “When I was in medical school, weight-loss surgery was just getting popular,” says Dr. West. “Now we have more refined options with fewer risks and better outcomes.”
2010s: Insta-Health + Hustle
The 2010s saw dieting rebranded with a health halo. “Clean eating” took over social media, while Paleo diets, turmeric lattes and intermittent fasting became part of a well-curated wellness aesthetic. Boutique workouts like Orangetheory and Peloton turned fitness into lifestyle brands, where effort was tracked, posted and rewarded. “There have been wild swings over the last century, from soft and curvy to ultra-thin, and then to hyper-toned and athletic,” says Hanway. “In my opinion, the biggest turning points have come with social media and celebrity influence. We have never been so exposed to other people’s bodies and the information, or misinformation, on how they got there.”
2020s: The GLP-1 Era
After decades of diets, pills and programs, a new class of injectables changed everything. GLP-1 medications like Wegovy, Zepbound, Ozempic and Mounjaro—the latter two were originally developed for diabetes—quickly became the most talked-about tools in modern weight loss. “They work unlike everything else other than bariatric surgery,” says obesity specialist Dr. Spencer Nadolsky. “These new medicines blow every diet and supplement out of the water in terms of how well they work.” By targeting the body’s metabolic pathways, GLP-1s curb appetite, stabilize blood sugar and quiet what many call “food noise”—the persistent cravings and mental chatter that can derail progress. Hanway says their rise mirrors a growing sense of fatigue with diets in general. After trying everything else, many people are now finding real results. At the same time, the cultural conversation is shifting. Obesity is being recognized as a chronic disease, not a failure of discipline. “Patients can now feel empowered to manage their weight with a variety of treatment options, including minimally invasive procedures like endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty,” says Dr. Brian Dunkin, chief medical officer of endoscopy at Boston Scientific. According to Fair Health data, more than 15 million Americans are now using GLP-1s for weight loss, and interest continues to climb.
What’s Next: The Next Frontier
If there’s one thing the last century of weight-loss trends has taught us, it’s that progress doesn’t come from willpower alone; it comes from understanding how our bodies actually work. The future of weight management is getting more personalized, with tools like AI-guided meal planning, peptide protocols, hormone testing and metabolic mapping moving into everyday practice. As Hanway explains, we’re at a turning point. “Personalized nutrition, targeted supplements, and even peptide therapies will play a role,” she says, “but so will stress management, circadian rhythm syncing and gut-brain axis repair.” Dr. Nadolsky shares her optimism. “The future is quite bright. We will have bariatric surgery results in a medicine very soon. We can likely prevent obesity, too, which I believe will be the next frontier.”
