The first standard reference chart of ideal weights for men and women was published by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in 1942. At the time, the ideal weight for a woman of 5’4” was between 116 and 142 pounds, depending on frame, with shoes and clothes. Seventeen years later, in 1959, the chart was revised. The ideal weight for a woman of 5’4” had decreased to 108 to 138 pounds with clothing and shoes. The American population hadn’t actually seen an increase in weight during those two decades, but they thought they did thanks to the new and “improved” guidelines— and the weight loss industry pounced on the American fear that they were becoming increasingly overweight. As the weight loss industry grew, so did our waistlines. America has consistently ranked among the fattest countries on the planet; for all of our fat bashing, we outweigh most of the world.