In 2003, The Human Genome Project, a groundbreaking international scientific endeavor that decoded the 3 billion DNA base pairs that make up the human genome, was officially completed. The project had started 13 years prior and promised to provide valuable insights into human biology, disease and evolution, though enterprising corporations saw another realm in which the findings would be potentially useful (and lucrative): dieting.
At the time, American culture was definitely saturated in diet talk. Former Surgeon General David Satcher had declared obesity an epidemic in the United States in 2001, which led to an onslaught of fitness and nutrition-focused news segments, documentaries and television programs, ranging from “The Biggest Loser” and “You Are What You Eat” to “Super Size Me” and MTV’s “Fat Camp.” Not all of these pieces of media have aged well in the ensuing two decades, but their existence speaks to the relentless societal interest at the time in how we should be feeding our bodies.
