Eustace Chesser (formerly Isaac Chesarkie) (22 March 1902 – 1973) was a Scottish

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

social reform Reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary movements which reject t ...

er and writer.

Early life

Eustace Chesser was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

on 22 March 1902, to Russian immigrants. He educated at

George Watson's College George Watson's College is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. It was first established as a Scottish education in the eighteenth ...

and received his medical degree from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, in 1926.

Career

Chesser worked for some years as a GP in

Cinderford Cinderford is a town and civil parish on the eastern fringe of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England. The population was 8,777 at the 2021 Census. The town came into existence in the 19th century, following the rapid expansion of the ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and spent part of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a clinical assistant at the

Tavistock Clinic The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health trust based in north London. The Trust specialises in talking therapies. The education and training department caters for 2,000 students a year from the United Kin ...

.Obituary: Dr Eustace Chesser, ''The Times,'' 6 December 1973, p. 18. In 1940 he published a sex manual entitled ''Love Without Fear''. It sold 5,000 copies but it was withdrawn, and Chesser was arrested for obscenity. Rather than pleading guilty and accepting a fine, Chesser chose to be tried by jury. Chesser, who pleaded not guilty, was later acquitted. During the course of the trial, three doctors expressed the opinion that the book served a very useful purpose. In 1959 Chesser resigned from the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union and professional body for physician, doctors in the United Kingdom. It does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The BMA ...

after the BMA decided that no further copies of a booklet to which he had contributed, entitled 'Getting Married', should be issued. The BMA defended its decision on the grounds that the booklet had been criticised by other doctors who were members of the BMA.

Dieting

Chesser authored the book ''Slimming for the Million'' in 1939. He advocated a

low-carbohydrate Low-carbohydrate diets restrict carbohydrate consumption relative to the average diet. Foods high in carbohydrates (e.g., sugar, bread, pasta) are limited, and replaced with foods containing a higher percentage of fat and protein (e.g., meat, ...

high-protein diet.Foxcroft, Louise. (2012). ''Calories & Corsets: A History of Dieting Over 2, 000 Years''. Profile Books. p. 119. He recommended

bacon Bacon is a type of Curing (food preservation), salt-cured pork made from various cuts of meat, cuts, typically the pork belly, belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central in ...

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...

s, lean meats and fresh vegetables. He argued that "all sugars should be avoided like the devil", especially

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

which he described as "one of obesity's biggest allies." His low-carb dieting ideas are a predecessor to the

Atkins diet The Atkins diet is a low-carbohydrate fad diet devised by Robert Atkins in the 1970s, marketed with claims that carbohydrate restriction is crucial to weight loss and that the diet offered "a high calorie way to stay thin forever". The diet be ...

. A review in the ''

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world ...

'' noted that Chesser's meat or protein diet may be deficient in essential vitamins and concluded that the book "does not seem practical enough for a patient or detailed enough for a doctor."

Personal life

In 1926 Chesser married Rose Morris, with whom he had a son, later the psychiatrist Edward Stewart Chesser, and a daughter, Shirley. Chesser later married Sheila Blayney-Jones, who survived him. In 1968 Chesser suffered a serious illness which left him physically incapacitated for the remainder of his life. Following his death, in 1973, a meeting in memory of Chesser was held at the

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society based at 1 Wimpole Street, London, UK. It is a registered charity, with admission through membership. Its Chief Executive is Michele Acton. History The Royal Society of Medicine (R ...

.Deaths: Memorial Services,''The Times,'' 13 February 1974, pg. 28.

Bibliography

*''Slimming for the Million'' (1939) *''Love Without Fear: a Plain Guide to Sex Technique for Every Married Adult'' (1940) *''The Practice of Sex Education: A Plain Guide for Parents and Teachers'' (1944) *''The Unwanted Child'' (1945) *''Children by Choice (1947) Reissued in 1950 as A Practical Guide to Birth Control'' *''Grow up - and live'' (1949) *''Cruelty to Children'' (1952) *''How to Make a Success of Your Marriage'' (1952) *''Successful living'' (1952) *''The Sexual, Marital and Family Relationships of the English Woman'' (1956) *''Love and Marriage'' (1957) *''Women'' (1958) *''An Outline of Human Relationships'' (1959) *''Odd Man Out: Homosexuality in Men and Women'' (1959) *''Is Chastity Outmoded?'' (1960) *''The Cost of Loving'' (1964) *''Sexual Behavior'' (1964) *''Shelley & Zastrozzi: Self-Revelation of a Neurotic'' (1965) *''Unmarried Love'' (1965) *''Living with Suicide'' (1967) *''Why Suicide?'' (1968) *''Sex and the Married Woman'' (1968) *''Twentieth Century Woman'' (1969) *''Strange Loves: The Human Aspects of Sexual Deviation'' (1970) *''Who do you Think You Are?'' (1970) *''Salvation Through Sex: The Life and Work of Wilhelm Reich'' (1972) *''Is Marriage Necessary?'' (1974)

References

;Footnotes ;Sources * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chesser, Eustace 1902 births 1973 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh British sexologists Low-carbohydrate diet advocates People educated at George Watson's College Health professionals from Edinburgh History of mental health in the United Kingdom Scottish psychiatrists Scottish reformers 20th-century Scottish writers Scottish people of Russian descent