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

[Anonymous]

There was way more shame being fat then. We wouldn’t play with the fat kids. They were freaks, rare. No I’m okay, you’re okay and everyone gets a trophy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No fast food and much better coke. And also people really cared and ate better. Today it feels trendy to be fat.

We had tons of fast food in the 70s and 80s

People ate like sh*t in that time, too

You guys really need to stop making assumptions about ye olde days

Well, what do you think is the difference? I grew up in the 70s and we didn't eat anywhere near the crap my kids eat now. My parents didn't exercise, smoke or do any drugs either. They are STILL slim in their 80s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No fast food and much better coke. And also people really cared and ate better. Today it feels trendy to be fat.

I was born in the 1972. It was all about fast food fun! McDonalds, Taco Bell, Burger King... And, of course, TV dinners. But: most of us were still thin.

My 7-year birthday party was in a McDonald's birthday room -- not a play land, an actual birthday room with built-in games. As the birthday girl, I got to go behind the scenes to make and package my own burger, fries, and soda. It was the coolest thing ever. Even my turtleneck had little cheeseburgers along the hemline.

[Anonymous]

The answer is sugar and high fructose corn syrup added to everything coupled with fat acceptance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The answer is sugar and high fructose corn syrup added to everything coupled with fat acceptance.

I’m sorry. that was rude.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of ideas out there but we actually don’t really know.

“ A given person, in 2006, eating the same amount of calories, taking in the same quantities of macronutrients like protein and fat, and exercising the same amount as a person of the same age did in 1988 would have a BMI that was about 2.3 points higher. In other words, people today are about 10 percent heavier than people were in the 1980s, even if they follow the exact same diet and exercise plans.”

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/09/why-it-was-easier-to-be-skinny-in-the-1980s/407974/

This. It could be the rise of obesogens - things like BPA and phthalates that are pervasive in the environment and in our bodies. You can thank the chemical lobby and money in politics for not protecting us from these poisons. U.S. women's breast milk contains more chemicals compared to European mothers. In Europe chemicals have to be proven safe instead of proven harmful like here. Some of these chemicals may cause epigenetic changes in metabolism across generations.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/13/pfas-forever-chemicals-breast-milk-us-study

https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/09/magazine/toxic-breast-milk.html

When European scientists first saw the test results of American women, they thought there must be a mistake. Our levels were 10 to 100 times higher than those of women in Europe and Japan.

+1

This, plus the the massive use of antibiotics. Farmers use antibiotics to fatten cattle. Why people don't think that has an effect on humans is beyond me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

This plus the push to take animal fats like butter and lard out of our diet and add "vegetable oils" like canola, and soybean oil. Those oils are in everything these days.

[Anonymous]

When I was skinny I ate

Lucky charms with whole milk
Pb&J with chocolate milk
Doritos with dip and a coke
Spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic bread
Ice cream

Pretty much every day (the dinner was always pasta and meat or rice and meat or potato and meat)

Did not eat a veggie or a fruit until college

[Anonymous]

I also think that the people who make weight a moral and willpower issue are to blame. The obesogenic industries (sugar, plastics, big agriculture, etc.) love these people, because they do their dirty work. There won't be effective societal change until people recognize that individual willpower has no real impact on long term weight management as compared to systemic and industrial impacts. Essentially, we need to have a Big Tobacco moment as a society.

I don't think we will, though, because the folks who adore shaming fat people enjoy it too much. They like the power trip and won't give it up.

[Anonymous]

I don't know how anyone who's read the Diet or Food boards on DCUM could say we're okay with fat these days.

[Anonymous]

I can’t believe no one remembers the aerobics craze of the 80s. No one remembers the 20 Minute workout on TV? I used to do it with my mom all the time. Of COURSE working out was a thing.

And everything we had was canned, processed, loads of crap like Snackwells, Little Debbies. We’re all thin, then and now. I just chalk it up to genes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I was skinny I ate

Lucky charms with whole milk
Pb&J with chocolate milk
Doritos with dip and a coke
Spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic bread
Ice cream

Pretty much every day (the dinner was always pasta and meat or rice and meat or potato and meat)

Did not eat a veggie or a fruit until college

So you were a child, then?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No fast food and much better coke. And also people really cared and ate better. Today it feels trendy to be fat.

We had tons of fast food in the 70s and 80s

People ate like sh*t in that time, too

You guys really need to stop making assumptions about ye olde days

Well, what do you think is the difference? I grew up in the 70s and we didn't eat anywhere near the crap my kids eat now. My parents didn't exercise, smoke or do any drugs either. They are STILL slim in their 80s.

I am the PP and I genuinely don't know what accounts for the differences. Perhaps it is chemicals and hormones (though that just sounds like woo woo/moral shaming to me). Perhaps it's subtle shifts in lifestyle. I don't have the answer, I can just say that as someone who grew up in that time it wasn't because we were growing our own food, walking everywhere, and eating small portions of nuts and berries back then. Sure my friends and I had way more freedom to ride our bikes and see where the day took us - but the kids I know now (I don't have kids myself) are on, like four soccer teams every season and are getting a LOT of exercise, more than we got f**king around all day for sure.

[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.

Really interesting thoughts PP, thanks for sharing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also think that the people who make weight a moral and willpower issue are to blame. The obesogenic industries (sugar, plastics, big agriculture, etc.) love these people, because they do their dirty work. There won't be effective societal change until people recognize that individual willpower has no real impact on long term weight management as compared to systemic and industrial impacts. Essentially, we need to have a Big Tobacco moment as a society.

I don't think we will, though, because the folks who adore shaming fat people enjoy it too much. They like the power trip and won't give it up.

I hate to say that I agree with you, but this thread is a perfect example. The tired trope of “eat less, move more” (always delivered with a sneer) empowers corporations to keep poisoning our food supply.