Biomaterial Database

Greco-Roman and Byzantine views on obesity. 2007

Niki Papavramidou, and Helen Christopoulou-Aletra

Division for the History of Medicine, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.

This paper focuses on the Greco-Roman views on obesity with certain extensions to the Byzantine era. The writers reported hereby are Aulus Cornelius Celsus (circa 25 BC), Dioscorides Pedanius (40-90 AD), Soranus of Ephesus (98-138 AD) whose writings on the subject survived through Caelius Aurelianus (5th c. AD), Claudius Aelianus (3rd C. AD), Oribasius (324-400 AD), Aetius of Amida (circa 450 AD), Alexander Trallianus (6th c. AD), Paulus Aegineta (7th c. AD), and Theophilus Protospatharius (9th C. AD). All of the authors treat the subject of etiology, clinical manifestations and treatment, while the Hippocratic and Galenic views seem to be taken into consideration. The most important observation made on the basis of the studied texts is the emersion of the notion of the "Mediterranean diet" that was advised as an extremely successful conservative way to treat obesity. The Greco-Roman and Byzantine writers continue the long tradition of treating obesity and set the foundations for modern methods of treatment.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D009765	Obesity	A status with BODY WEIGHT that is grossly above the recommended standards, usually due to accumulation of excess FATS in the body. The standards may vary with age, sex, genetic or cultural background. In the BODY MASS INDEX, a BMI greater than 30.0 kg/m2 is considered obese, and a BMI greater than 40.0 kg/m2 is considered morbidly obese (MORBID OBESITY).
D012014	Reference Books, Medical	Books in the field of medicine intended primarily for consultation.	Books, Medical Reference,Medical Reference Books
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D001294	Attitude to Health	Public attitudes toward health, disease, and the medical care system.	Health Attitude,Attitude, Health,Attitudes, Health,Health Attitudes,Health, Attitude to
D049690	History, Ancient	The period of history before 500 of the common era.	Ancient History,Ancient History (Medicine),Ancient History of Medicine,History of Medicine, Ancient,Medicine, Ancient History,Ancient Histories (Medicine),Ancient History Medicine,Ancient History Medicines,Histories, Ancient (Medicine),History Medicine, Ancient,History Medicines, Ancient,History, Ancient (Medicine),Medicine Ancient History,Medicines, Ancient History
D018612	Byzantium	An ancient city, the site of modern Istanbul. From the 4th to 15th centuries the empire extended from southeastern Europe to western Asia, reaching its greatest extent under Justinian (527-565). By about 1000 A.D. it comprised the southern Balkans, Greece, Asia Minor, and parts of southern Italy. The capture of Constantinople in 1453 marked the formal end of the Byzantine Empire. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988)	Byzantine Empire
D018644	Roman World	A historical and cultural entity dispersed across a wide geographical area under the political domination and influence of ancient Rome, bringing to the conquered people the Roman civilization and culture from 753 B.C. to the beginning of the imperial rule under Augustus in 27 B.C. The early city built on seven hills grew to conquer Sicily, Sardinia, Carthage, Gaul, Spain, Britain, Greece, Asia Minor, etc., and extended ultimately from Mesopotamia to the Atlantic. Roman medicine was almost entirely in Greek hands, but Rome, with its superior water system, remains a model of sanitation and hygiene. (From A. Castiglioni, A History of Medicine, 2d ed pp196-99; from F. H. Garrison, An Introduction to the History of Medicine, 4th ed, pp107-120)	Roman Empire
D018645	Greek World	A historical and cultural entity dispersed across a wide geographical area under the influence of Greek civilization, culture, and science. The Greek Empire extended from the Greek mainland and the Aegean islands from the 16th century B.C., to the Indus Valley in the 4th century under Alexander the Great, and to southern Italy and Sicily. Greek medicine began with Homeric and Aesculapian medicine and continued unbroken to Hippocrates (480-355 B.C.). The classic period of Greek medicine was 460-136 B.C. and the Graeco-Roman period, 156 B.C.-576 A.D. (From A. Castiglioni, A History of Medicine, 2d ed; from F. H. Garrison, An Introduction to the History of Medicine, 4th ed)