Examining iconic artworks like Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa could offer doctors a fresh perspective on obesity, potentially fostering less judgmental attitudes, an expert has suggested.
Dr Michael Yafi, a paediatric endocrinologist at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, posits that the subject of the Mona Lisa may have been overweight following multiple pregnancies.
For centuries, obesity was often perceived as a symbol of prosperity and wealth, he said.
Looking ahead, Dr Yafi predicts that gaunt faces resulting from rapid weight loss, spurred by modern drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro, could soon be featured in contemporary art.
His insights were shared at the European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul.
“Corpulence was long a sign of prosperity, wealth, high social status and physical strength,” he said.
“Men with obesity were portrayed as heroes, leaders, royals and nobles and women with excess body fat were symbols of beauty, fertility and prosperity.”
Dr Yafi cited a number of examples of famous art from across the ages, including the Venus of Willendorf, which is estimated to have been created about 30,000 years ago and depicts the female form with an exaggerated belly, breasts and hips.
He also suggests that in Greek mythology, the god of wealth, Pluto, was often portrayed as obese, while women with excess body fat were “considered as models” during the European renaissance.
“Obesity was a symbol of power, too,” Dr Yafi said.
“We know from research from Turkey that 29 of the 36 Ottoman emperors who lived between 1258 and 1926 were depicted as having abdominal obesity or reported to have obesity.”
Speaking of the Mona Lisa, he added: “Lisa Gherardini, the woman with the enigmatic smile in Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic painting, is shown with excessive body fat.
“It’s been speculated that she had lipid metabolism disorder, meaning she couldn’t break down fat properly, but a simpler explanation is that she had put on weight in pregnancy. After all, she’d had four children by this time.”
He also suggested that the composers Bach and Handel may have had vision problems caused by type 2 diabetes, as they were often portrayed as carrying excess weight in paintings from the Baroque era.
Dr Yafi said that understanding how obesity has been viewed in the past could lead to better treatments for patients.
“If physicians see that obesity was for centuries viewed as a positive thing, it will help them be non-judgmental and more empathic,” he said.
“This, in turn, should allow them treat patients more holistically and so lead to the patients achieving better results.”
Elsewhere, Dr Yafi, who is a former concert pianist with an interest in art, predicted that the gaunt faces caused by rapid weight loss in people on GLP-1 drugs will feature in future pieces.
“People are talking about this effect, plastic surgeons are documenting it and I think that as more people use these drugs, GLP-1 face will be depicted in art,” he said.
“I am sure that if Picasso had been alive today, he would have painted it.”
He also said that the depiction of body weight in art only changed in the second half of the 20th century.
“This led to images of thin, often unrealistically thin, men and women being glorified and obesity being stigmatised,” he said.
“Suddenly, thin people became beautiful and the women who inspired artists for centuries were no longer considered attractive.”
