“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)

A fan watches the pre-game before an NFL football game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday, November 26, 2023, in Indianapolis. (Photo by Darron Cummings/AP Photo)

Actor John Travolta (L) and recording artist Lady Gaga attend Interscope's Grammy After Party with Lady Gaga at the Peppermint Club on February 12, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Interscope)

(L-R) American rapper Doja Cat, Jeffrey “J” Cyrus and American singer-songwriter Bebe Rexha attend the 66th GRAMMY Awards on February 04, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

Kerry Katona (L) seen attending OK! Magazine's 25th anniversary party at The View from the Shard on March 21, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)

Demi Rose attends Sixty6 Magazine – issue two launch party at Paper club on March 22, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)

A man reacts as he receives 100 whippings by religious police as punishment for pre-marital sеx, outside a mosque in Jantho, Aceh province on June 5, 2020. A couple in Indonesia's conservative Aceh was publicly flogged 100 times each on June 5 after they were caught having pre-marital sеx, as one pleaded for an end to the painful punishment. Aceh is the only region in Muslim-majority Indonesia to impose Islamic law, which allows whipping for a range of charges. (Photo by Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP Photo)

Vogue Italia is hosting a series of shows in Milan exploring how the magazine seeks to engage with hot social and political issues and provoke debate through images by top photographers. The Photo Vogue festival in Milan is hosting three exhibitions. The first, Fashion and Politics in Vogue Italia, looks at the magazine’s ambition to be a catalyst for change – in subtle and playful ways. Here: David LaChapelle – October 2004. (Photo by David LaChapelle/The Guardian)