Cecil Webb-Johnson (1879 – 23 June 1930) was a British physician, dietitian and writer.

Biography

Webb-Johnson was born in

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

. His brother was surgeon Alfred Webb-Johnson.Anonymous. (1930)
''Dr. Cecil Webb-Johnson''
''The British Medical Journal'' 2 (3626): 43. Webb-Johnson was educated at Owens College, Manchester and London Hospital. He graduated M.B. in 1903. He worked as clinical assistant at Chelsea Hospital for Women and was an assistant medical officer to Staffordshire County Asylum in 1906. In 1914, he was joint honorary secretary of the Section of Naval and Military Medicine and Surgery. Having joined the Territorial Force a few years before World War I, he served during the war as a major with the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

of the British Army in India and worked as a civil surgeon and officer at the station hospital in Dum Dum. He was also a medical officer at hospitals in Calcutta, Lucknow and

Allahabad Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...

. He operated his own private practice in London and was clinical assistant at the National Hospital for Diseases of the Heart.

Dieting

Webb-Johnson took interest in dietetics and treating obesity. He was concerned about the negative effects of overeating and described this as "one of the curses of modern civilisation." He opposed tobacco use by women as he believed it had the tendency to make them look under-nourished and their skin yellow. Webb-Johnson advocated a low-carbohydrate diet that was also low in fat and protein.Foxcroft, Louise. (2012)
"Calories and Corsets: A History of Dieting"
Retrieved 3 April 2019. All cakes,

cereal A cereal is any Poaceae, grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, Cereal germ, germ, and bran. Cereal Grain, grain crops are grown in greater quantit ...

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

, potatoes, beans, carrots, peas, duck, goose,

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

lobster Lobsters are a family (biology), family (Nephropidae, Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs ...

and fatty meats such as

bacon Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork made from various cuts, typically the belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central ingredient (e.g., the bacon, lettuce, and tomato sand ...

, ham and pork were forbidden on his diet. Webb-Johnson's controversial statement "Never drink milk; it is an unnatural food, save for the young", was printed in American newspapers.Anonymous. (1922)
''Milk is Bad For Adult, English Physician Says''
''The Milk Reporter'' 38 (7): 3. He argued that it is not natural to drink milk after infancy, "nature does not intend milk to be taken after the purpose for which it was provided has been fulfilled." He stated that milk makes people fat and causes constipation, flatulence,

rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including art ...

and if taken in excess an appendicitis.

Royal S. Copeland Royal Samuel Copeland (November 7, 1868June 17, 1938), a United States Senator from New York from 1923 until 1938, was an academic, homeopathic physician, and politician. He held elected offices in both Michigan (as a Republican) and New York ...

described Webb-Johnson's statements as absurd and commented that "they are opposed to the conclusion of the medical profession and of all scientists who have investigated the nutritional value and availability of milk as food." Webb-Johnson supported the No Breakfast Plan, he recommended that obese or overweight people avoid eating any breakfast.Anonymous. (1924)
"Futility of Fatness"
''The Mail''. p. 21

Publications

''Diet for Woman''
(1922) *''Diet for Men'' (1923) *''Why Be Fat?'' (1923)
''Diet for Children''
(1924)
''Woman's Health and Happiness''
(1925)
''Nerve Troubles, Causes and Cures''
(1929)
''Health and Diet''
(1930)

Biography

Dieting

Publications

References

Further reading