George A. Harrop

George Argale Harrop (November 5, 1890 – August 4, 1945) was an American physician, nutritionist and writer.

Biography

Harrop was born in Peru, Illinois. During 1908–1910 he was educated at University of Wisconsin. He transferred to Harvard University and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1912.

In 1938, he became the director of research of the Squibb Institute for Medical Research at New Brunswick, New Jersey. He published his results in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1934. The diet recommended taking six bananas with 1000 cubic centimetres (4 glassfuls) of skimmed milk each day. Three or more meals were to be eaten each day, one with cabbage or lettuce. The diet was followed for ten days and was said to produce a weight loss of four to nine pounds.

The majority of Harrop's patients lost weight; however, the diet was not tested on a large enough group of patients to define its practical value. Physician Morris Fishbein commented that "many people found it difficult to follow because they could not tolerate milk and the diet was also criticized because of its tendency to produce constipation."

Selected publications

Management of Diabetes: Treatment by Dietary Regulation and the Use of Insulin (P. B. Hoeber, 1924) Diet in Disease (P. Blakiston's Son & Company, 1930) Harrop, George A. (1934). A Milk and Banana Diet for the Treatment of Obesity. Journal of the American Medical Association 102 (24): 2003–2005. Harrop, George A; Struve, Mildred. (1934). The Banana in the Management of Obesity. The American Journal of Nursing 34 (7): 685–694.