Jean Nidetch (1923 -)
Jean Nidetch is the founder of Weight Watchers, a
company that has changed the lives of both women and men through dieting. She
has been voted on of the 100 most important women of the 20th century[1]
because she has allowed people to live for longer simply by eating better and
doing more exercise. The idea of losing weight and keeping off the weight has
revolutionised the health industry as society encourages fitness and healthy
eating through the use of food packaging and advertisements. Steps have also been
made in schools to cut down salt and sugar intake in school dinners; this is
all based upon the idea of Weight Watchers but in a different context.
However Weight Watchers has struggled to keep up
with the advances of the 21st century, the Washington Post states that
"Americans looking to shed a few pounds are looking, instead, to free
fitness apps on their smartphones, a simple shift that has devastated one of
the most iconic names in weight loss."[2]
This shows that today’s societies do not want to discuss their dieting habits
with other people and would rather deal with the issue themselves. The use of
apps on smartphones is quick and easy to use so saves people a lot of time and
is personal to the user. Often taking personal information to cater for various
recommendations regarding what foods to eat, how many calories to consume and
how much exercise they should be doing.
Hedy Lamarr (1914-2000)
Lamarr was both an actor and an inventor; in 1942
she had an idea to help the war effort in World War 2 with the help of George
Antheil. Together they developed anti-jamming device which could be used to prevent
enemy spies from intercepting US Military messages. This invention was also
known as "frequency hopping", as a result of this their invention
also assisted in the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 and to this day is still used
in military communications. Furthermore this invention allows our modern day
technologies to thrive as it enables people to use huge amounts of cellular
devices such as mobile phones, wireless communications and faxes. By being able
to control the different frequencies means that companies can handle hundreds
of thousands of calls at the same time.
Finally in the 1990s they both received the recognition they deserved by
winning multiple awards. A significant achievement for Lamarr was being the
first woman to receive a BULBIE which is a lifetime achievement award.
"Lamarr proved that beautiful women also are
intelligent, crashing stereotypes that many people hold. She invented a
technology that enables some of the most popular modes of communication
today."[3]
To some extent this perception of beautiful women as not being intelligent
still exists today, however the fact that Lamarr was both successful in the
entertainment industry and the field of science shows that this is not the
case. It is her invention that modern society revolves around today with mass
communication and internet; therefore she has not only revolutionised American
society but the whole world.
[2]
Drew Harwell, Americans’ new way of losing weight has left weight watchers
behind, Washington Post, 29th 0ctober 2014
[3] https://www.nwhm.org/education-resources/biography/biographies/hedy-lamarr/
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