For those seeking to lose weight, the market offers a plethora of options, some of which have proven effective. However, the story of weight loss trends in the United States is a long and winding one. Before the 20th century, being a bit heavier was often seen as a sign of prosperity and good health. But as the 20th century dawned, attitudes began to shift, driven by factors like insurance companies linking excess weight to early mortality and the fashion industry's embrace of slimmer silhouettes.
Early Weight-Loss Attempts
The advertising world, fueled by new businesses, was quick to offer solutions. One early example was a 1928 Lucky Strike cigarette advertisement that encouraged people to "Reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet." Although the confection industry threatened legal action, the ad was rewritten in 1930 to suggest that smoking Lucky Strikes could help maintain a "modern, graceful form" by avoiding overindulgence. George Bray, a professor of medicine at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, notes that there is some truth to this claim, as cigarettes can stimulate energy expenditure and potentially substitute for snacking.
Another early weight-loss method involved speed pills. Amphetamines were prescribed after World War II to help sleep-deprived soldiers stay awake and alert. After the war, Smith Kline & French began selling the drugs for weight loss and depression. However, amphetamines were generally discontinued in 1979 due to concerns about addiction and abuse. Similar to amphetamines were the "rainbow pills" of the 1940s, '50s, and '60s, which contained laxatives, diuretics, and amphetamines and were linked to several deaths.
Ayds: The Diet "Candy"
Amidst these trends, Ayds emerged as a fudgelike candy designed to be taken before meals as an appetite suppressant. Introduced in the 1950s by the Carlay Company of Chicago, Ayds gained popularity over the next two decades. The original packaging used the phrase "Ayds Reducing Plan vitamin and mineral Candy," while a later version used "appetite suppressant candy." Ayds was available in chocolate, chocolate mint, butterscotch, caramel, and peanut butter flavors. Early ads for the appetite suppressant leaned heavily on language that implied the medicine was something of a miracle worker, implying the medicine contained no drugs.
Initially, Ayds contained benzocaine, an oral anesthetic intended to numb the taste buds. Later, the formula was infused with phenylpropanolamine, a decongestant also used for urinary incontinence in dogs.
Read also: The Hoxsey Diet
Advertising and Promotion
Ayds Candy was known for its unique advertising and promotional campaigns that focused on the brand’s ability to suppress appetite and aid in weight loss. In the 1940s and 1950s, Ayds was frequently advertised in print ads featuring major stars such as Hedy Lamarr and Zsa Zsa Gabor. One memorable television commercial from the 1980s featured a woman who lamented about her weight gain, then popped a piece of Ayds candy into her mouth and watched as her reflection transformed into a slimmer version of herself.
The brand also relied on print advertisements in women’s magazines, featuring testimonials from satisfied customers. Ayds also used product placements in popular television shows and movies to promote the brand. Another promotional campaign that Ayds Candy used was sponsoring weight-loss contests, partnering with local gyms or weight loss centers to offer prizes to individuals who had successfully lost weight while using Ayds candy.
FTC Scrutiny
Some of the earliest Ayds ads earned scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) due to their claims. In 1945, the FTC ordered its manufacturer, Carlay, to cease disseminating any advertisement that represented that excess weight could be removed through use of the product without restricting the diet.
The AIDS Crisis and the Downfall of Ayds
However, the rise of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s brought notoriety to the brand due to the phonetic similarity of names and the fact that the disease caused immense weight loss (cachexia) in patients. Despite this, the president of Ayds' manufacturing company stated in a September 1985 newspaper interview that sales had actually increased as a result of the connection. Another executive stated in early 1986, "The product has been around for 45 years. Let the disease change its name."
Nonetheless, the company faced headwinds that would soon prove difficult to ignore. By 1988, sales had fallen by as much as 50%, and Ayds announced it was seeking a new name. The first rebrand debuted in the UK. Eventually, the company decided to change the name to "Diet Ayds," allowing it to keep the hallmark of the old name while distancing it from the disease. However, this decision wasn’t enough to save it.
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The Ingredients and Their Impact
Ayds was not a perfect product, and its biggest period of success in the ‘70s and early ‘80s was at a time when serious questions about diet drugs, and the way they were being marketed, were being asked. And despite those claims from the ‘40s that Ayds contained no drugs (confirmed by looking at the ingredient list on this box), it did later use common chemicals for diet suppression in a reformulation.
Most over-the-counter diet medications of the era used one of two drugs: Phenylpropanolamine, which at the time was often used in cold medicine; and benzocaine, a drug known for its numbing effects that is often used in cough drops or Chloraseptic. By the early 1980s, Ayds candies used benzocaine to numb the tongue in an effort to ease the effect of taste buds, while other products in the then-expanded Ayds line used phenylpropanolamine, a chemical that is now banned in much of the world but was common then.
Other Weight-Loss Fads
Aside from Ayds, other weight-loss fads have come and gone throughout history.
The "Twinkie Diet"
Also known as the "Twinkie diet," this approach was tried by Mark Haub, a professor of human nutrition at Kansas State University, in 2010. He lost 27 pounds.
Grapefruit Diet
The grapefruit diet, which has existed in some form since the 1930s, restricts food to almost nothing but grapefruit and maybe a hard-boiled egg.
Read also: Weight Loss with Low-FODMAP
The Tapeworm Cure
The concept behind the tapeworm cure is that a tapeworm living in the intestines consumes calories that might otherwise feed the human host. However, the parasites might damage or kill you.
A Spoonful of Vinegar
The "apple cider vinegar weight-loss diet" involves taking a couple of teaspoons of vinegar, diluted by water, before a meal, which advocates say induces weight loss by decreasing appetite and even reducing insulin levels.
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