—From “Eating to Live,” an editorial from the July 18, 1925, issue of The Saturday Evening Post
Eating does not play the part in life that it once did. We seem to be approaching the common-sense stage, in fact, where, instead of living to eat, we are eating to live. It is now pretty generally accepted — in America — that food must be taken in moderation.
Few men indulge in three square meals a day anymore, except those who do heavy manual labor.
In the matter of quantity, we are gradually learning our lesson. When necessary, we accept diet restrictions that would have astonished the past generation.
We are entering only the first stage of food reform; but in accepting the principle that overeating is the greatest menace to health, we have taken the hardest step of all. From now on it will be possible for medical science to achieve real results in the improvement of health and the lengthening of life.
This article is featured in the July/August 2025 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. Subscribe to the magazine for more art, inspiring stories, fiction, humor, and features from our archives.
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