Ancel Benjamin Keys, PhD., the inventor of the K-rations that kept Allied troops alive and reasonably well fed on the battlefield during WWII, died last week at the age of 101.
But the greater contribution of Dr. Keys is even more interesting. As Sandy Szwarc notes in this TCS op-ed, Dr. Keys’ greatest scientific contributions are to our understanding of the human body and eating.
Inasmuch as the mainstream media in America is obsessed with dieting and a svelte figure, few Americans who read Dr. Keys’ obituary know that, over half a century ago, he conducted the soundest clinical studies ever done on the adverse effects of dieting. His findings — which have been confirmed many times since — proved that dieting can actually cause severe physiological and psychological harm, often results in people becoming fatter, often leads to eating disorders, and even increases the risk for heart disease and life shortening illnesses.
As Ms. Szwarc notes:
The extreme physical and mental effects [of restricted diets that] Keys observed led to his famous quote:
“Starved people cannot be taught democracy. To talk about the will of the people when you aren’t feeding them is perfect hogwash.”