“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 freshwater stingray pup looks out from a holding tank at Bristol Zoo's aquarium on January 20, 2012 in Bristol, England. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Members of the LSU Golden Girls dance team sit spaced apart wearing masks, under COVID-19 restrictions, requiring social distancing and masks, before an NCAA college football game between the LSU and the Mississippi State in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, September 26, 2020. (Photo by Gerald Herbert/AP Photo)

This aerial photo shows the wreckage of the Asiana Flight 214 airplane after it crashed at the San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, Saturday, July 6, 2013. (Photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo)

Breitling Wingwalkers aircrafts perform during an aerobatic display at an air show in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China, September 25, 201. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Migrants try to board a truck at Ouistreham ferry port in the hope of reaching the UK on September 12, 2018 in Ouistreham, France. After the clamp down at Calais many young migrants are seeking out new routes to the United Kingdom as stowaways on vehicles making the channel crossing by ferry from French ports. The migrants, of mostly African origin, camp out on the roadside and woodland areas as the authorities prevent the setting up of any camps. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

A man dressed as a devil performs during a Krampus parade in Kaprun, Austria on December 5, 2017. Krampus is a mythical creature that, according to legend, accompanies Saint Nicholas during the festive season. Instead of giving gifts to good children, he punishes the bad ones. (Photo by APA-PictureDesk GmbH/Rex Features/Shutterstock)