Victorian convicts were fed a sustaining diet

[Still Waters]

Inmates carried out heavy labour in Victorian prisons, and given the stories about the awful food in these prisons, you might assume that they wasted away while they did their time. However, our latest study shows that most convicts were within the normal BMI range at the beginning of their sentence and remained so on release.

Prison authorities had to provide a diet with enough calories so that inmates wouldn’t lose weight. After all, they wanted inmates to be healthy enough to find work once they’d done their time. The trick was to provide sustenance as cheaply as possible, but not let anyone become ill from malnutrition. A difficult balancing act.

https://theconversation.com/victorian-convicts-were-fed-a-surprisingly-sustaining-diet-101052