London, May 18 (SANA) Depictions of obesity in art over thousands of years show it was once widely associated with wealth, fertility, and social status, according to research presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2026).
Michael Yafi, a pediatric endocrinologist at UT Health Houston, said figures such as the Venus of Willendorf and artworks from medieval Europe reflected obesity as a sign of prosperity and strength.
He also cited portrayals of Ottoman rulers, composers Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel, and artists such as Rubens and Renoir as examples of historical normalisation of higher body weight.
Yafi said perceptions shifted in the late 20th century after medical links were established between obesity, diet, and metabolic disease, leading to increased stigma and idealization of thinness.
He added that modern GLP-1 weight-loss drugs can cause a rapid facial fat loss effect known as “GLP-1 face,” which may eventually appear in contemporary art.
He said linking medicine and art could help physicians reduce judgment and treat obesity more holistically.
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