What does bantingism mean?
Bantingism is the name given to the weight-loss system introduced by William Banting, a retired London undertaker who published his famous "Letter on Corpulence" in 1863. After decades of obesity, Banting lost substantial weight by giving up bread, butter, milk, sugar, beer, and potatoes while eating meat and greens freely — making him one of the earliest popular advocates of what we would now call a low-carbohydrate diet. His pamphlet became an unlikely bestseller, and "banting" entered everyday speech on both sides of the Atlantic, with the derived term bantingism denoting the practice or creed itself. The word carries a distinctly historical flavor today: it surfaces mainly in accounts of Victorian health fads and in South African writing about modern low-carb eating, which revived the Banting name. Its chief interest lies in showing how a single man's surname became shorthand for dieting itself.
nounThe practice or system of reducing body weight by avoiding carbohydrate-rich foods such as bread, sugar, and potatoes, following the regimen popularized by William Banting in the 1860s.
- The practice of losing weight by following William Banting's low-carbohydrate regimen, avoiding starches and sugars.
- More broadly, adherence to or advocacy of low-carbohydrate dieting principles.
"Long before Atkins, Victorian dieters swore by bantingism and its meat-heavy menus."
"By 1864, bantingism had become fashionable among London's middle classes eager to shed pounds without hunger."
"Her doctor dismissed bantingism as a passing fad, though she insisted it was the only regimen that had ever worked for her."
Rarely pluralized; the plural would refer to variant forms or multiple instances of the practice, which is uncommon in usage.
"Historians have catalogued several competing bantingisms promoted by rival pamphleteers."
The world's first bestselling diet book was written in 1863 by a London undertaker named William Banting — and 'bantingism' was the Victorian equivalent of going keto.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bantingism
Bantingism is an eponym formed from the surname of William Banting (1796–1878), a London undertaker whose 1863 pamphlet "Letter on Corpulence, Addressed to the Public" recounted his successful low-carbohydrate weight-loss regimen, devised under medical guidance. The English suffix -ism, borrowed ultimately from Greek via Latin and French, was attached to his name to denote the practice or doctrine of following his diet. The related verb "to bant" and the noun "banting" appeared shortly afterward, and the terms spread widely through Britain and America in the 1860s and 1870s before fading into historical usage.
Related word forms
How bantingism is actually used
A historical term, now largely obsolete except in discussions of Victorian diet culture or South African low-carb literature. Carries a slightly quaint, period connotation rather than a clinical one.
Easily confused with bantingism
"Banting" refers to the dietary practice itself (or, in South Africa, the modern low-carb lifestyle), while "bantingism" denotes the doctrine or adherence to that system.