Why were people so skinny in the 70s and 80s

[Anonymous]

Running and working out wasn't a thing back then. My parents were skinny as heck. They played sports but weren't going to the gyn especially as they got older. Both had desk jobs. We lived in a city so not a ton of walking (it wasn't safe). Anyone feel like it's strange?

[Anonymous]

Less take out food back then.

[Anonymous]

1. smoking
2. more walking, less time in front of elecronics, less technology in everyday life
3. less hormone in our food supply
4. eat leass

[Anonymous]

I think smoking works as an appetite suppresant.

[Anonymous]

more active

[Anonymous]

Nobody supersized anything. And no fast food.

[Anonymous]

Cigarettes and blow

[Anonymous]

Less food around. More smoking. More shame for being fat. Also a lot of the 60s/70s food was disgusting. Bacon jello casserole? Ugh.

[Anonymous]

Smoking and eating out less. Mostly smoking.

[Anonymous]

Less processed food, less eating out. We so rarely ate out when I was a kid, getting a happy meal at McDonalds or pizza delivery was a treat rather than a weekly occurance.

[Anonymous]

ooh yeah +1 on the smoking! My dad gained so much weight when he finally quit smoking.

[Anonymous]

Smaller portion sizes and people usually ate at home - much less takeout and restaurant food. And smoking.

[Anonymous]

I'm 54 and remember when everybody started marketing low fat foods in the 80s, and nobody realized they added a bunch of sugar to make it taste better. And I really think we got addicted to that, more than anything. And that was about the same time diet sodas became sweetened with Nutrasweet which tasted a lot better than the older saccharine sweeteners that had a bitter aftertaste. There is some data out there that just tasting the sweetness without getting the calories makes you crave more.

To me, those two trends really shifted how we ate as a country. That plus fast food marketing super-sized everything.

[Anonymous]

Cigarettes. All of our moms smoked, at least in the 70s.

Speed. Doctors prescribed amphetamines for weight loss.

I also think (again in the 70s) more women not working outside the home, so more cooking and less processed or fast food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cigarettes and blow

+1 My MIL full admits to smoking through her 3 pregnancies in the 70s because she didn't want to get fat. Lucky for her she didn't get fat and her kids seemed to have turned out okay.