Why were Americans of all ages so thin during the 1960s and 1970s?

[Anonymous]

Just got back from a couple of weeks in Italy. I saw very few overweight people. Portions were much smaller - lots of gelato but no waffle cones. Also they sit and eat. Never saw a person holding a to-go cup of coffee, even in Rome. You either sat at the cafe or stood up at the cafe bar. I’m trying to emulate some of these habits now that I’m home.

[Anonymous]

Portion size.

In the 70’s, a McDonalds cheeseburger or hamburger and a small or medium fries was a normal portion. A quarter pounder was the large size and large fries were for sharing. Now, most restaurants offer quarter pounder burgers for “lighter” appetites and almost always have half-pound burgers as a regular option with a couple of fistfuls of fries on the side.

The size of drinks (soft drinks/lemonade) are also double what would have been brought to the table in a restaurant. Those huge glasses still make me think how things have changed.

Also, I think it is portion size because people did not workout regularly. In the late 70’s/early 80’s, Running for exercise became a thing thanks to Jim Fixx and racquetball became popular. Unless you were wealthier and played tennis, most people did not work out or belong to a health club. Health clubs did not exist.

So now, people work out more... but eat double the amount

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are close to two ice cream shop. Have you seen the lines there! It's always long. And we wonder why we have a weight and health problem.

There are also many more self serve ice cream/yogurt places which encourage people to get larger portions &/or more toppings/flavors than they would probably get at a traditional ice cream/yogurt shop.

[Anonymous]

People were far more active, tan, attractive , thinner and tougher.

No sitting around all day on screens. No pathetic helicopter parenting. I feel sorry for kids these days with such bland memories of childhood. All the exiting and moderately risky stuff has been completely removed. When I see toddlers on tricycles with a gigantic bike helmet on I want to Puke. No wonder the fertility rate is dropping like a rock. Hardly anybody looks or acts sexy or vigorous. It's kind of gross.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure if that's totally true. Most women became portly once they hit 40. Now you see many women over the age of 40 rocking a bikini, which was unheard of in the 60's and 70's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in the 60s and 70s. I am 50. We ate junk food all the time. Twinkies, super sweet cereal, cokes, Kool-aide, ...... We weren't fat because we were active all the time. It really is that simple.

Yes.

The 70s diet was horrible compared to today.

But most families had only one car so people biked and walked many places. We spent all day outside playing, running around, climbing trees, swimming.

Most people did not have AC so inside was HOT over the summer.

And lost of adults smoked in addition to being more active.

OMG no. I was a child in the 70's. I never heard of a single family that only had one car, that would have been very strange. I lived in a middle class suburb and everyone had AC. And no, most people did not smoke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just got back from a couple of weeks in Italy. I saw very few overweight people. Portions were much smaller - lots of gelato but no waffle cones. Also they sit and eat. Never saw a person holding a to-go cup of coffee, even in Rome. You either sat at the cafe or stood up at the cafe bar. I’m trying to emulate some of these habits now that I’m home.

I remember that from Rome too. And people walked places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in the 60s and 70s. I am 50. We ate junk food all the time. Twinkies, super sweet cereal, cokes, Kool-aide, ...... We weren't fat because we were active all the time. It really is that simple.

Yes.

The 70s diet was horrible compared to today.

But most families had only one car so people biked and walked many places. We spent all day outside playing, running around, climbing trees, swimming.

Most people did not have AC so inside was HOT over the summer.

And lost of adults smoked in addition to being more active.

OMG no. I was a child in the 70's. I never heard of a single family that only had one car, that would have been very strange. I lived in a middle class suburb and everyone had AC. And no, most people did not smoke.

I grew up in the 80s and we only had a window unit AC in my parents room. Rest of house had no AC.

[Anonymous]

PP Fairfax County, our lives did NOT revolve around food. Soccer "snacks" were oranges. Family road trips/vacations/family reunions always involved a park with a playground. And, we played! Up and down the tall, metal sliding boards, teeter totters, swings, monkey bars, pull up bars.

Playgrounds today are more passive.

Another observation; Field Day in the 1970s was competitive. We got medals and actually competed in hurdles, 50 yard dash, relay race. Now, FD is face painting and snow cones.

What happened to the Presidential Fitness Award? That was another very popular, very competitive, active "unit" in ES and middle school. Running the 600, flex arm hang, sit ups, etc.

[Anonymous]

Oh! 9:08 as a long time volunteer in schools and church, now when something physical is offered (recess, sport, game) kids opt to sit out or complain or waste time asking questions. Lots of whining, injuries and questions.

Lazy and wimpy.

[Anonymous]

As others have opined, walking. I just returned from a trip to London and Paris and actually lost a few pounds despite the rich food and wine (Paris). However, we walked all over each city all day long.

[Anonymous]

Part of the blame goes to IPhones and Amazon. Instead of walking, biking to visit a relative, a friend or go to the stores, people are becoming chair or couch potatoes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in the 60s and 70s. I am 50. We ate junk food all the time. Twinkies, super sweet cereal, cokes, Kool-aide, ...... We weren't fat because we were active all the time. It really is that simple.

Yes.

The 70s diet was horrible compared to today.

But most families had only one car so people biked and walked many places. We spent all day outside playing, running around, climbing trees, swimming.

Most people did not have AC so inside was HOT over the summer.

And lost of adults smoked in addition to being more active.

OMG no. I was a child in the 70's. I never heard of a single family that only had one car, that would have been very strange. I lived in a middle class suburb and everyone had AC. And no, most people did not smoke.

I was a child in the 1960s. We had one car, almost no one had two cars, quite a few families had no car. We had AC in only one room. But we lived in an outer borough of NYC.

[Anonymous]

Some actual data on vehicle ownership

https://www.bts.gov/archive/publications/passenger_travel_2016/tables/fig2_8

In 1970 about 35% of HHs had two or more vehicles

In 2013 that was close to 60%.

This is based on US Census data.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just got back from a couple of weeks in Italy. I saw very few overweight people. Portions were much smaller - lots of gelato but no waffle cones. Also they sit and eat. Never saw a person holding a to-go cup of coffee, even in Rome. You either sat at the cafe or stood up at the cafe bar. I’m trying to emulate some of these habits now that I’m home.

I remember that from Rome too. And people walked places.

Yes, and walking here is seen as being one of The Poors.

My new neighborhood is next to a shopping center with a Starbucks. I asked my neighbor if she wanted to walk over to get a coffee with me (literally, walk 30 feet out of our neighborhood and cross at one red light). We've been hitting it off so far and I thought this would be a good chance to get to know each other better while the kids were gone. She wavered and said, "I mean, I guess, but what will people, you know, think?" I was completely confused and thought she meant just us going without inviting anyone else or maybe just her going with me because something had been said about me, etc. She then clarified, "we always just take turns driving over, the girls and I do. Because so many OTHER people walk, you know?" Yesssss, I know exactly what you mean. The "other people" are the people from down the road who live in the income restricted apartment complex... the POORS, many of whom don't have cars. Don't want to be confused as being poor! They'll happily walk to exercise within the confines of our neighborhood, but just not on any main streets where someone could see them and confuse their healthy exercise behavior as being poor.

I have seen & heard it all!