Obesity: A Venusian story of Paleolithic proportions

Art through the ages has been a marker of societal trends and fashion. Obesity is proscribed by physicians and almost reviled by today's society. While Venus (Aphrodite) continues to be the role model for those to aspire to free themselves from the clutches of obesity, Paleolithic humans had a different view of the perfect female form. Whether the Venus of Willendorf was a fashion symbol will be never answered, but the fact is that she remains testimony to the fact that obesity has been with us for several millennia.