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

[Anonymous]

There's no shame in being fat now.

Back then, the fat kid got teased, picked last in PE and general games, and didn't usually make any little league teams.

Plus, no one dated the fat kid.

I'm not saying back then was better at all, but body positivity was not a thing. Mothers back then did not hesitate to tell their daughters not to eat certain things or they'd get fat.

I can remember my mom telling me to limit myself to one or two pieces of chocolate a month so I didn't get acne. Also, I was always served a smaller portion of food at dinner to maintain my figure. Boys needed food to grow and become strong. Women needed will power to be as strong as possible.

My cousin was chubby from birth and as soon as she hit 12 or 13, I remember my aunt having the doctor put her on some type of weight loss drug. That stuff had her looking like a skeleton in no time at all!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People were sizable in the 70s and 80s if they didn't smoke. They just weren't SUPER sized. That was too shameful, so people didn't get to that level, or if they did, they stayed inside or were given "nicknames" that shamed them.

And I agree about people not sitting at desks for as long as we do now, not eating out as much, certainly much less fast food.

Overall, I think people were more socially interacting -- IN PERSON -- so you went to the chuch ladies meeting or the Elks club or the social card games and you saw other people who were size 8-12 (for women) and that was where you set your expectations. Some of the influence was passive (not actually shaming), just the expectations women and men gleaned from being around other people... because people actually WERE AROUND OTHER PEOPLE socially.

I think a large part of why people are overweight now is that they are using food to comfort themselves when they are bored (at work, often) or they are stressed by the job or the hours -- and people need something to boost their mood -- so it's a cookie or a latte to push through the day. And that adds up day after day and week after week.

And then we see a lot more people getting portly -- and that becomes our normal.

Ugh, this is depressing but true, your point about socializing. Even before the pandemic, I had noticed that engagement in things like the PTA and church groups was way down. Now, it's kind of dead. I can't wait to stop Zooming again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People were sizable in the 70s and 80s if they didn't smoke. They just weren't SUPER sized. That was too shameful, so people didn't get to that level, or if they did, they stayed inside or were given "nicknames" that shamed them.

And I agree about people not sitting at desks for as long as we do now, not eating out as much, certainly much less fast food.

Overall, I think people were more socially interacting -- IN PERSON -- so you went to the chuch ladies meeting or the Elks club or the social card games and you saw other people who were size 8-12 (for women) and that was where you set your expectations. Some of the influence was passive (not actually shaming), just the expectations women and men gleaned from being around other people... because people actually WERE AROUND OTHER PEOPLE socially.

I think a large part of why people are overweight now is that they are using food to comfort themselves when they are bored (at work, often) or they are stressed by the job or the hours -- and people need something to boost their mood -- so it's a cookie or a latte to push through the day. And that adds up day after day and week after week.

And then we see a lot more people getting portly -- and that becomes our normal.

Social norming is definitely a thing.

Something I haven't seen anyone else mention in this thread is that so much more is automated now.
- car windows (then) winding cranks vs. (now) electronic button
- car steering (then) manual vs. (now) automatic
- tv channel changes (then) kid runs to turn the knob on the tv vs. (now) remote
- lawn mowers (then) basic push mower vs. (now) power drive
etc. etc.

Not many calories used in each, but a couple of calories extra used many times every day adds up. Obviously this would not be one of the main contributors, and there are many, many things contributing to our current obesity epidemic.

I also remember that we had no problem parking way in the back of the lot and walking to the mall entrance or grocery store. Whereas now I see people endlessly circling to try to get a closer spot, or they put their hazards on and run inside.

But we're also all running around with Fitbits and Apple pedometers to make sure we're getting enough steps in! I don't think this is simply a matter of less activity - there may be different activity, perhaps less built into your regular day, but, I don't know. My parents in the 80s did not exercise. I am now older than they were then, and I walk 15k steps a day. I'm also not obese - knock wood! just five stubborn extra pounds - but I see a lot of people who look like me when I am out and about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's no shame in being fat now.

Back then, the fat kid got teased, picked last in PE and general games, and didn't usually make any little league teams.

Plus, no one dated the fat kid.

I'm not saying back then was better at all, but body positivity was not a thing. Mothers back then did not hesitate to tell their daughters not to eat certain things or they'd get fat.

I can remember my mom telling me to limit myself to one or two pieces of chocolate a month so I didn't get acne. Also, I was always served a smaller portion of food at dinner to maintain my figure. Boys needed food to grow and become strong. Women needed will power to be as strong as possible.

My cousin was chubby from birth and as soon as she hit 12 or 13, I remember my aunt having the doctor put her on some type of weight loss drug. That stuff had her looking like a skeleton in no time at all!

As someone married to an obese man, I think you should really check yourself when you say there's no stigma against being big. You may think there should be MORE social opprobrium against those who aren't skinny but I can tell you that from his perspective, there's plenty of nasty judgment still, don't you worry.

[Anonymous]

No cell phones or video games
Smoking

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:smoking
speed
exercise (my dad was a runner in the 70s and 80s, so some people were doing it, my mom went to some early version of women's workout world. It was in a strip mall, Gloria something?)
smaller portions-if you got a soda it was 8 or 12oz
less time on screens, so even if we weren't athletic we were less sendentary

Gloria Stevens Figure Salon !!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lots of housewives took amphetamines mixed with barbiturates for weight loss.

“ So-called “rainbow diet pills,” prescribed almost at random in special walk-in clinics, gave patients amphetamines—and the illusion of personalized medicine. Patients in search of weight loss would receive a short consultation and a prescription that was filled in a compounding pharmacy, usually one that gave kickbacks to the prescribing doctor.”

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/speedy-history-americas-addiction-amphetamine-180966989/

We seriously need to bring these clinics back!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No cell phones or video games
Smoking

We had video games in the 80s. Unless you're thinking of the 1880s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of processed food in the 70s and 80s. Not sure of people’s memories: but truthfully, The food wasn’t as tasty, easier to stop. TV dinners boomed in the 80s and they were terrible. Tons of delicious but fatty frozen food today.

I don't know about other people, but we ate mostly unprocessed foods for meals because my parents were immigrants, but we did eat processed food for snacks. Even so, the cost of food was more expensive back then in comparison. Inflation was high in the 70s up until the mid 80s, then dropped significantly in the mid 80s into the 90s.

You are responding to me. I am also the child of immigrants and we ate food cooked at home. But didn’t you see what was going around you with your school friends? Who eats bologna sandwiches for lunch today?

[Anonymous]

I think there is much more snacking occurring today. I never ate between meals when I was growing up in the 60s and 70s, if anything, it was an apple or orange. There is so much types of snack food available, different kinds of Milky Ways, a gazillion types of chips, etc. When I raised my own kids in the 80s and 90s, we barely went out to eat, never had soda except for special occasions, and not many snacks.
I never smoked so can't speak to that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know folks. I was around in the 80s and I ate tons of snacks, lots of candy and junk food, and we watched TV all the time. Cable became a thing in the 80s. And yes, we ate at home a lot but a lot of that food was heavily processed. Lots of casseroles from recipes on the back of a soup can, lots of freezer meals, etc. And I had a SAHM. My own child eats better and watches way less television than I did at her age. And it's not an SES thing -- my parents were/are a higher SES than my DH and I are.

I still agree that processed foods and lack of exercise is a big part of it, but I'm not sure television is the culprit. I think it's stress. I think families are stressed, parents are stressed, kids are stressed. I think everyone numbs with whatever is handy, whether that's fatty foods or television or video games or the internet. I think we're all trying to make the day to day as tolerable as possible because the long term feels worse than ever. And so much is expected of us. Kids in the 70s and 80s just went to school, maybe did one or two activities, tops. Yes, there were fewer dual-income parents, because it was possible to own a home and send your kids to decent schools without a second income. And if you did own a home and your kids were doing okay in school (which could mean straight Bs, that was fine and most people didn't freak out about that), you were considered successful even if you worked a blue collar job and never took a vacation that required an airplane.

Being middle class in the 70s and 80s was nice. Even for POC who were experiencing more racism, being middle class was pretty nice. It was a sustainable lifestyle that felt meaningful (kids, work) but also included a decent amount of leisure time and family time.

I don't know what the heck we're doing now. It seems terrible. I think it's hard to "eat your veggies" and get some exercise when you are exhausted and stressed out and feel like no matter what you do or how hard you try, you'll never have enough money to retire on, you'll never be able to afford college for your kids, and you are one medical emergency away from financial ruin.

I think it's stress and everything else (overeating, processed and heavy foods, lack of exercise, overwork, etc.) goes back to that.

You didn't have a computer or cell phone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No cell phones or video games
Smoking

We had video games in the 80s. Unless you're thinking of the 1880s.

Video games, arcades, weed. All existed in the olden days... Sedentary with the munchies and people were still thinner than now.

[Anonymous]

I agree it’s a combination of factors.

1. More stigma and pressure to be thin, being chubby as a kid was seen as a serious problem
2. Kids and teenagers were far more active, child obesity was much lower and even lower for their parents. Once people reach obesity it’s extremely hard to change this.
3. Food did not taste very good. Yes my mother cooked from scratch and it wasn’t healthy but also didn’t taste great. It was edible but you wouldn’t want to eat more than a small serving of it. Honestly, if I served tuna casserole, dry baked breaded chicken covered in cheddar cheese, green beans cooked to mush in mushroom soup, meatloaf, turkey in a heavy cream sauce over toast or overcooked spaghetti covered in chili, cheese and onions we would all be really skinny not because these are low calorie meals but because they don’t taste good.
4. Smoking kept habit or addictive eaters from eating.
5. Fewer snack choices
6. Fewer restaurant and take out options
7. Sugar wasn’t added to everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Availability of liquid calories and snacks is so much different now than it was in the 70s and 80s. The marketing is subversive, too. "Healthy" juices and smoothies that add extra calories and more grams of sugar than is recommended in a whole day. Entire aisles in the supermarket devoted to whole grain snacks, superfoods, etc. that from a macros perspective are no different than a bag of chips. Daily starbucks runs (my parents drank black coffee, maybe some cream and a couple cubes of sugar. Think of how many people now habitually consume take-out coffee drinks instead.) Add to that better accessibility to more food in general OR less accessibility to quality foods.

You must not have been around in the 70s and 80s. There was tons of soda, fruit juice, "fruit" juice (like Sunny D), Hawaiian Punch, Capri Sun, you name it. Starbucks didn't exist but we had plenty of junk to fill us up, even in the ye olde times. And plenty of weird diets, too.

I think you're all looking back with skinny-colored glasses.

DP. Those were around for sure, but in my house they were a treat. I bought a carton of milk every day for lunch, I think it was $.10 in the early 80s a little more for chocolate milk, I didn't have juice in my lunch. A soda was a treat when having dinner in a restaurant. There was no such thing as a refill, you had to pay for each one so I was only allowed one. Now it's bottomless and you can have as much as you like if the parents allow it. There was plenty of junk but there seemed to be more restraint and less over doing it.

[Anonymous]

I can’t speak for everyone, but in the ‘70’s and 80’s, my parents and grandparents had large gardens, and canned or froze vegetables. Most of our meals were homemade.
As kids, my brother and I played outside - a lot. We roamed the neighborhood with our friends without a parent in sight. We just had to be home in time for supper.
It was a great time to be a kid.