Weighing up what we can learn from our ancestors' diets

In the writing of Britain's past, the lives of the average and the ordinary have often been overlooked, but a new study being carried out by the University of Leeds plans to put humble peasants and their

eating habits back on the map.

Spanning three years, the project, You Are What You Ate, will look at our ancient ancestors' attitude to food, dispel a few of the most persistent myths and hopefully show how lessons from the past can be used to improve health in modern times.

"The project will completely transform public perceptions of the past," says Iona McCleery, a lecturer in medieval history at the university, who is leading the research.

"There is still the idea that medieval people led short, unhappy lives and that what happened all those centuries ago has no connection to the modern world. It's certainly true that, in the past, life expectancy was much shorter than our own, but despite the passage of time we still share many similarities and this project hopes to highlight those

links.

"Obesity, for example, existed in the medieval period. Back then, it was largely confined to the upper classes and, like gout, was seen as a sign of social status.

"Today, of course, that trend has been reversed. While the wealthiest in society have much more healthy diets, obesity is now a particular problem for the disadvantaged. One of the things we want to do is look at how and why that happened and what individuals can do to improve their own health."

With ale and wine staple drinks in medieval times, the project hopes to reassess the traditional image of a hard-working, clean-living population and help youngsters in particular, connect with their

ancient ancestors.

Funded by the Wellcome Trust, an independent charity set up to promote research into human health, the study will bring together experts in archaeology, nutrition and cultural historians, who, over the next three years, will run a programme of school workshops, food festival events and exhibitions.

"We know the best way to engage children is to spark their imagination," says Iona. "There is a 'Horrible Histories' factor to the project whereby we can give youngsters access to medieval skeletons which show quite starkly the problems of tooth decay and how the increase in sugar in our diets has made that problem worse.

"Everyone knows they should clean their teeth twice a day, but a hands-on element is a much more effective way of getting those kind of

healthy messages across to children.

"The average calorie intake in medieval times was between 10,000 and 12,000 a day. With the recommended intake today at around 2,000, those figures can seem incredible, but one of the things we want to look at is how our lifestyles have changed.

"A medieval knight clearly expended far more energy than a 21st-century office worker."

Much has been written about the country's apparently worsening obesity problem, with many dubbing the growth in waistlines a ticking timebomb. Working with University of Bradford scientists and Wakefield Council, the team at Leeds University also hopes to highlight some of the medieval practices which could help to reverse that trend.

"Just like today, people in the past weren't always overly keen on eating a purely healthy diet," adds Iona. "In fact, there was a period when fruit and vegetables were actually considered unhealthy, rickets was a common problem and many people were undernourished.

"There is also evidence of diabetes and other conditions that we perhaps think of as modern diseases. However, the medieval diet was much more closely associated with the seasons and that's definitely one thing we could all perhaps learn from.

"There was a link to the land and food production that over the centuries has been lost and, hopefully, this project will inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to think much more about their diet and the lifestyles they lead."