MUESLI BELT

noun (Health and Fitness) Humorously, an area largely populated by middle-class health-food faddists. Etymology: Formed by compounding. Belt has long been used in the sense of a zone or region, especially with a preceding word denoting the main characteristic or product (such as corn belt, rust belt, etc.). Muesli is seen as the archetypal health food; in this case there is also some allusion to the Bible belt, with the implication that belief in health foods is fundamental to the way of life of this group. History and Usage: The term arose soon after the middle-class obsession with health foods took hold in the late seventies. A report published in 1986 showed that the children of health-food faddists tend to be undernourished, a fact which gave rise to the term muesli-belt malnutrition. Team vicar required. An attractive post in S.W. London 'Muesli belt'. advertisement in Not the Church Times 22 Sept. 1981, p. 6