Watching this story sourced from the Annals of Internal Medicine make the rounds on the newswires…
President William Howard Taft, the country’s heaviest commander in chief and a high-profile yo-yo dieter in his day, lost 60 pounds in the early 1900s on a low-carb diet with the help of a diet doctor. (source)
What’s the composition of a low-carb diet fit for a president? According to the story, its composition was ~2100 calories composed of the following:
- 30% carbohydrate
- 30% protein
- 40% fat
Indeed! Not exactly low-carb in my book, but likely a dire change for many following the standard American diet (of today, or yesterday).
Resources
- Corpulence and Correspondence: President William H. Taft and the Medical Management of Obesity, Levine, Deborah. Ann Intern Med. 2013;159(8): 565-570. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-159-8-201310150-00012
- President Taft lost 60 pounds on a low-carb diet, Hellmich, Nanci. USA Today, October 14, 2013.
