“The most serious health problem in the U.S. today is obesity.” Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? But that pronouncement about obesity’s primacy in the hierarchy of national health problems is not new. Rather, it’s the opening line to a remarkable article published 60 years ago in LIFE magazine. This photographs made by Martha Holmes to illustrate that March 1954 article, titled “The Plague of Overweight.” Photo: Dorothy Bradley (left), photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, 1949. (Photo by Martha Holmes/Time & Life Pictures)

Britain's Princess Elizabeth clasps her hands in sympathy as Sergeant Jean Bayliss faints at her feet during an inspection of the guard of honour of the Women's Royal Army Corps at Shrewsbury Castle, Shropshire, on July 6, 1949. (Photo by AP Photo)

Libyan forces allied with the U.N.-backed government fire a shell at Islamic State fighters' positions in Sirte, Libya August 15, 2016. (Photo by Ismail Zitouny/Reuters)

A member of Libyan forces allied with the U.N.-backed government fires a weapon on a pickup truck during a battle with Islamic State militants in Giza Bahreya, in Sirte, Libya October 27, 2016. (Photo by Hani Amara/Reuters)

A girl wearing a mask takes part in a procession celebrating the religious holiday of Mawlid al-Nabi, the birthday of Prophet Mohammad, in Benghazi, Libya December 10, 2016. (Photo by Esam Omran Al-Fetori/Reuters)

A fighter of Libyan forces allied with the U.N.-backed government fires a shell with Soviet made T-55 tank at Islamic State fighters in Sirte, Libya, August 2, 2016. (Photo by Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

A member of security forces takes part in a training session arranged by a security company in Tajoura suburb of Tripoli, Libya on February 10, 2021. (Photo by Hazem Ahmed/Reuters)