The Diets That Time Forgot

Released: 2008-03-18

Runtime: 60 minutes

Episode Overview

100 years ago, the average woman's waist was around 10 inches smaller and the average man was a stone and a half lighter. Sir Roy Strong champion of the age of elegance and former director of the Victoria and Albert Museum and the National Portrait Gallery, thinks history holds the answer to the nation's obesity epidemic. To prove it, he's conducting an experiment. He's taken a magnificent Victorian Country House and transformed it into a health spa of period. Sir Roy reveals history's secrets to getting slim, keeping fit and looking beautiful. If the volunteers hold their heads high and stand up straight, they get to find out what it means to keep fit and feel sexy using a corset. The weigh-in results produce smiles all round. But the big question is, which plan works best?

Series Overview

In this unique experiment, nine 21st century volunteers subject themselves to the weight loss diets and fitness regimes of previous generations. But have they bitten off less than they can chew?