Dr. Venner

Tobias Venner (1577–1660) was an English physician and medical writer who practiced in Bath, England, where he promoted the therapeutic use of the city's thermal springs. He is best known for his book Via Recta ad Vitam Longam (1620), which offered guidance on hygiene, diet, sleep, exercise, and the balance of the four humours for preserving health and longevity. Venner is credited with being one of the first English-language writers to describe obesity as a disease and to recommend Bath's thermal waters as a remedy for corpulence. He also authored an early treatise on tobacco in 1621, noting both potential benefits and adverse health effects of smoking.