Dr. Yafi: Art History of Obesity Fosters Doctor Empathy

At the European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul, pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Michael Yafi presented research arguing that studying historical depictions of obesity in art can foster greater empathy among doctors, leading to improved patient outcomes.

Dr. Yafi, from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, highlighted how corpulence was long portrayed as a symbol of prosperity, wealth, high social status and physical strength. Men with excess body fat appeared as heroes, leaders, royals and nobles, while women were depicted as embodiments of beauty, fertility and prosperity.

Among the earliest examples is the Venus of Willendorf, a stone figurine dated 24,000 to 32,000 years old, featuring exaggerated hips, breasts and other reproductive features. Religious art from the Middle Ages showed children and angels with folds of skin and excess fat. Dr. Yafi noted that research from Turkey indicates 29 of 36 Ottoman emperors, from 1258 to 1926, were depicted with abdominal obesity or reported as obese. Composers Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel, portrayed with excess weight in Baroque-era paintings, experienced vision deterioration later in life, which...