It’s both remarkable, and rather depressing, that the body ideals of Ancient Greece look so similar to ours today. Indeed, 2,500 year old depictions of Hercules and Adonis could feature quite happily on the cover of next month’s Men’s Health magazine, even down to the pelvic V-line. Yet peer outside the bubble of the West and things can become disorientatingly different. Professor Sophie Scott told me about a friend who used to spend time in Tanzania, collecting data. ‘Being fat there is a sign of status,’ she said. ‘People would comment in a negative way if she lost weight.
