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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is what gets me thinking - to what extent is BMI at all a valid way of evaluating things?

It's just kind of mindblowing. So if the healthy BMI is between 18.5-25, then a 5'4 woman should weigh anything from just under 110 to just over 140. At 118-120, I'm at the lower end of normal, but I don't think of myself as thin at all. I'm athletic and maybe even bulky to some. In the 70s and 80s, I'd probably be considered thick, having a good sized booty for a white woman. It seemed like normal/thin for a young woman at that time would be a BMI under 20. Now, by BMI I am absolutely "skinny" in comparison, at the 15th or so percentile. It's mindblowing that the average woman of my height weighs 50 lbs more than me. The AVERAGE! Which means, by standard deviation, there could very well be more people who weigh 100 lbs more than me than those who weigh less than me. That is absolutely nuts and should not be normalized. Normalize health, not disordered eating, in either direction.

BMI is such a terrible measure the military doesn’t really use it because most men can’t go through basic training, gain all that muscle and still have a healthy BMI.

Most people don't have the activity level of someone in boot camp. BMI is one indicator, if you are outside of healthy range, it's an indication that more analysis is needed. Do you have an extremely small or large frame? Are you extremely muscular? Are other health indicators in a healthy range? Just one measurement but an easy one.

The vast majority of women are not capable of having enough muscle mass to through them into an unhealthy BMI while having a low body fat. If you are a women, not an elite athlete or body builder, and have a BMI over the healthy range, you are overweight.

I disagree. You take any girl that is 5'9" above they have the body mass and muscles to make BMI very unreliable. There is actually a lawsuit against the military the lays out the science, because BMI isn't used for men but is was being used against women. The women won.

You don't understand the science.

I was in the military. They don’t use BMI, what are even talking about. If you are overweight, they measure various parts of your body and plug those into an equation to get a sense on your body fat.

Clearly it was changed since your experience.. jeez keep up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As for the language fights…I think “skinny” means something different today than it did in the 1980s/1990s. Growing up, “skinny” meant “very thin,” perhaps painfully so.

I’m an elder millennial who is smaller then the average American woman. I would never consider myself thin or skinny— I grew up with Kate Moss and the heroine chic look. But I’ve seen so many people with my general body type called “skinny” in the past 5 years. It’s neither a good thing or a bad thing but “back in my day,” I never ever would’ve been considered skinny!

I don't know anyone under the age of 50 who uses "skinny" to mean healthy and/or thin. It's usually said about an underweight child. I never hear of adults called skinny. But one here there seems to be someone obsessed with the idea of "skinny" women and starts posts like "Skinny moms what do you eat in a day" or "skinny moms are you jealous of other skinny moms?". Very weird. Probably the same person accusing everyone else of having an eating disorder. Or maybe English is not their first language. When people want to get in shape its to look toned and athletic not to be skinny.

Oh I see it all the time— sometimes it’s slightly derogatory, to complain about all attention/jobs/etc being given to “skinny women.” (Who are indeed small but not “skinny” at least to me).

I’ve also seen it in the health and diet context— how to stay skinny, etc. There’s a whole popular book series on how to become (and stay) a “skinny b” by eating vegan.

People serious about eating right and working out aren't talking about being "skinny" in my experience. If they use the word skinny its negative because nobody wants skinny legs and arms if you're lifting or doing strength training. Being called a "skinny B" is obviously not a compliment. I just associate being skinny as a goal with the boomers, the people who were all into the 70/80s workout crazes who wanted to be skinny at all costs rather than healthy. The goal now is more healthy, fit, and toned with younger people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is what gets me thinking - to what extent is BMI at all a valid way of evaluating things?

It's just kind of mindblowing. So if the healthy BMI is between 18.5-25, then a 5'4 woman should weigh anything from just under 110 to just over 140. At 118-120, I'm at the lower end of normal, but I don't think of myself as thin at all. I'm athletic and maybe even bulky to some. In the 70s and 80s, I'd probably be considered thick, having a good sized booty for a white woman. It seemed like normal/thin for a young woman at that time would be a BMI under 20. Now, by BMI I am absolutely "skinny" in comparison, at the 15th or so percentile. It's mindblowing that the average woman of my height weighs 50 lbs more than me. The AVERAGE! Which means, by standard deviation, there could very well be more people who weigh 100 lbs more than me than those who weigh less than me. That is absolutely nuts and should not be normalized. Normalize health, not disordered eating, in either direction.

BMI has its issues, but as a measure of health, it is definitely superior to the "Looks fat to me" DCUM measure

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Yes there were all those things. But people are also remembering correctly. All you have to do is look at old year book class photos. Or pictures from Woodstock, or the day Kennedy was assassinated. People overall were thinner then.

This is part of how this history is mis-remembered. Look at pictures of Coachella from today. You will see skinny people there, too. That's because the media and the public share (and remember) the most glamorous and sexy version of any event. It's not representative of the world - it's representative of what angle on events filters into the public memory.

I just did a Google search for Coachella 2020:







You're not getting the full view of humanity by looking at the pictures still being shared of Woodstock, just like youre not getting the full view of humanity by looking at the pictures the media is sharing of recent Coachellas. I hope you understand that!

PP doesn't think those girls are skinny, that is the problem.

Well, 4-5 of them are definitely not skinny. They would be size M-L in the 70s-80s. That doesn't mean that they are fat, or obese, or of unhealthy weight. But they are not skinny.

Exhibit A: The problem ^^^

Skinny is a description. Yes, it is a huge problem that you equate skinny with good and take not skinny as an insult. Have you tried to address that in therapy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At least people are kinder now. In the early 2000s, cruelty about weight was horrific. There’s never any need for that.

Meh, I think there is.

Fat kids in the 70s and 80s got teased relentlessly. I was one of those kids. It made me want to work to get skinny. The teasing was motivation.

My niece is fat and there's nothing to motivate her to lose weight. If a doctor even brings it up, she and her friends will put that doctor on blast on social media. People are now selling "don't weigh me unless medically necessary" cards to hand out to doctors. She shakes her ass on TikTok with all kinds of hashtags about her beauty and body positivity. Sorry, no, there's nothing positive about being 350lbs except the fact that you're probably not going to get kidnaped or sex trafficked. She has terrible knee issues, gets winded walking through a grocery store, doesn't fit in most restaurant booths, and is diabetic... none of those are positives.

There needs to be some degree of bullying to toughen people up and act as motivation to change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Yes there were all those things. But people are also remembering correctly. All you have to do is look at old year book class photos. Or pictures from Woodstock, or the day Kennedy was assassinated. People overall were thinner then.

This is part of how this history is mis-remembered. Look at pictures of Coachella from today. You will see skinny people there, too. That's because the media and the public share (and remember) the most glamorous and sexy version of any event. It's not representative of the world - it's representative of what angle on events filters into the public memory.

I just did a Google search for Coachella 2020:







You're not getting the full view of humanity by looking at the pictures still being shared of Woodstock, just like youre not getting the full view of humanity by looking at the pictures the media is sharing of recent Coachellas. I hope you understand that!

PP doesn't think those girls are skinny, that is the problem.

Well, 4-5 of them are definitely not skinny. They would be size M-L in the 70s-80s. That doesn't mean that they are fat, or obese, or of unhealthy weight. But they are not skinny.

Exhibit A: The problem ^^^

Skinny is a description. Yes, it is a huge problem that you equate skinny with good and take not skinny as an insult. Have you tried to address that in therapy?

LOL have you been on Instagram and tiktok? The ones with all the likes and views are definetely skinny, the above would be considered Coachella heavy

[Anonymous]

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/06/yes-there-were-fat-people-in-the-olden-days-too/258050/
Yes, There Were Fat People in the Olden Days Too

I think the difference is that there are more younger heavier people today. My whole family, according to pictures, starting being overweight in their 30s from 1900 on. Unless they smoked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least people are kinder now. In the early 2000s, cruelty about weight was horrific. There’s never any need for that.

Meh, I think there is.

Fat kids in the 70s and 80s got teased relentlessly. I was one of those kids. It made me want to work to get skinny. The teasing was motivation.

My niece is fat and there's nothing to motivate her to lose weight. If a doctor even brings it up, she and her friends will put that doctor on blast on social media. People are now selling "don't weigh me unless medically necessary" cards to hand out to doctors. She shakes her ass on TikTok with all kinds of hashtags about her beauty and body positivity. Sorry, no, there's nothing positive about being 350lbs except the fact that you're probably not going to get kidnaped or sex trafficked. She has terrible knee issues, gets winded walking through a grocery store, doesn't fit in most restaurant booths, and is diabetic... none of those are positives.

There needs to be some degree of bullying to toughen people up and act as motivation to change.

Exhibit 1 why obesogenic industries are laughing their way to the bank. With people like PP around, they don't even need to pay their lobbyists. PP does their dirty work for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least people are kinder now. In the early 2000s, cruelty about weight was horrific. There’s never any need for that.

Meh, I think there is.

Fat kids in the 70s and 80s got teased relentlessly. I was one of those kids. It made me want to work to get skinny. The teasing was motivation.

My niece is fat and there's nothing to motivate her to lose weight. If a doctor even brings it up, she and her friends will put that doctor on blast on social media. People are now selling "don't weigh me unless medically necessary" cards to hand out to doctors. She shakes her ass on TikTok with all kinds of hashtags about her beauty and body positivity. Sorry, no, there's nothing positive about being 350lbs except the fact that you're probably not going to get kidnaped or sex trafficked. She has terrible knee issues, gets winded walking through a grocery store, doesn't fit in most restaurant booths, and is diabetic... none of those are positives.

There needs to be some degree of bullying to toughen people up and act as motivation to change.

Exhibit 1 why obesogenic industries are laughing their way to the bank. With people like PP around, they don't even need to pay their lobbyists. PP does their dirty work for them.

What is an obesogenic industry?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least people are kinder now. In the early 2000s, cruelty about weight was horrific. There’s never any need for that.

Meh, I think there is.

Fat kids in the 70s and 80s got teased relentlessly. I was one of those kids. It made me want to work to get skinny. The teasing was motivation.

My niece is fat and there's nothing to motivate her to lose weight. If a doctor even brings it up, she and her friends will put that doctor on blast on social media. People are now selling "don't weigh me unless medically necessary" cards to hand out to doctors. She shakes her ass on TikTok with all kinds of hashtags about her beauty and body positivity. Sorry, no, there's nothing positive about being 350lbs except the fact that you're probably not going to get kidnaped or sex trafficked. She has terrible knee issues, gets winded walking through a grocery store, doesn't fit in most restaurant booths, and is diabetic... none of those are positives.

There needs to be some degree of bullying to toughen people up and act as motivation to change.

Exhibit 1 why obesogenic industries are laughing their way to the bank. With people like PP around, they don't even need to pay their lobbyists. PP does their dirty work for them.

What is an obesogenic industry?

Industries contribute significantly to obesity. Essentially, the industries that are to obesity what Big Tobacco is to cancer and smoking-related deaths.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least people are kinder now. In the early 2000s, cruelty about weight was horrific. There’s never any need for that.

Meh, I think there is.

Fat kids in the 70s and 80s got teased relentlessly. I was one of those kids. It made me want to work to get skinny. The teasing was motivation.

My niece is fat and there's nothing to motivate her to lose weight. If a doctor even brings it up, she and her friends will put that doctor on blast on social media. People are now selling "don't weigh me unless medically necessary" cards to hand out to doctors. She shakes her ass on TikTok with all kinds of hashtags about her beauty and body positivity. Sorry, no, there's nothing positive about being 350lbs except the fact that you're probably not going to get kidnaped or sex trafficked. She has terrible knee issues, gets winded walking through a grocery store, doesn't fit in most restaurant booths, and is diabetic... none of those are positives.

There needs to be some degree of bullying to toughen people up and act as motivation to change.

Exhibit 1 why obesogenic industries are laughing their way to the bank. With people like PP around, they don't even need to pay their lobbyists. PP does their dirty work for them.

What is an obesogenic industry?

Industries contribute significantly to obesity. Essentially, the industries that are to obesity what Big Tobacco is to cancer and smoking-related deaths.

Which industries specifically?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least people are kinder now. In the early 2000s, cruelty about weight was horrific. There’s never any need for that.

Meh, I think there is.

Fat kids in the 70s and 80s got teased relentlessly. I was one of those kids. It made me want to work to get skinny. The teasing was motivation.

My niece is fat and there's nothing to motivate her to lose weight. If a doctor even brings it up, she and her friends will put that doctor on blast on social media. People are now selling "don't weigh me unless medically necessary" cards to hand out to doctors. She shakes her ass on TikTok with all kinds of hashtags about her beauty and body positivity. Sorry, no, there's nothing positive about being 350lbs except the fact that you're probably not going to get kidnaped or sex trafficked. She has terrible knee issues, gets winded walking through a grocery store, doesn't fit in most restaurant booths, and is diabetic... none of those are positives.

There needs to be some degree of bullying to toughen people up and act as motivation to change.

Exhibit 1 why obesogenic industries are laughing their way to the bank. With people like PP around, they don't even need to pay their lobbyists. PP does their dirty work for them.

What is an obesogenic industry?

Industries contribute significantly to obesity. Essentially, the industries that are to obesity what Big Tobacco is to cancer and smoking-related deaths.

Which industries specifically?

I think they mean companies that make “junk” food and/or processed foods. Comparing food to drugs is ridiculous though. But whatever. Everyone is fat and no wants to take ownership of their own poor eating and lifestyle habits. It is the food industry’s fault, it is the school’s fault, it is your changing micro biome from plastics…I got it.

[Anonymous]

I agree there was a lot of processed food in the 70s/80s- the lunch I took to school was typically along the lines of bologna/kraft single on white bread, applesauce, little debbie cake. So many sugary drinks too. But I think activity levels were higher in general- more phys ed, more recess, more free time playing outside and bike rides. The only "screen time" was TV. Not that we didn't ask for more than my parents allowed, but all the devices now results in cumulatively higher screentime amounts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least people are kinder now. In the early 2000s, cruelty about weight was horrific. There’s never any need for that.

Meh, I think there is.

Fat kids in the 70s and 80s got teased relentlessly. I was one of those kids. It made me want to work to get skinny. The teasing was motivation.

My niece is fat and there's nothing to motivate her to lose weight. If a doctor even brings it up, she and her friends will put that doctor on blast on social media. People are now selling "don't weigh me unless medically necessary" cards to hand out to doctors. She shakes her ass on TikTok with all kinds of hashtags about her beauty and body positivity. Sorry, no, there's nothing positive about being 350lbs except the fact that you're probably not going to get kidnaped or sex trafficked. She has terrible knee issues, gets winded walking through a grocery store, doesn't fit in most restaurant booths, and is diabetic... none of those are positives.

There needs to be some degree of bullying to toughen people up and act as motivation to change.

We have become so sensitive as a society that there's this tremendous pressure not to be judgmental but that's resulted in a failure to provide good structures and expectations for people. The growth in fat acceptance is a perfect example. And I can also think of a bunch of other examples that will remain nameless at the moment. There's nothing wrong with a bit of judging and shaming. People do learn from it. And it's usually for the best. IT can be overdone, agreed, but we have a problem if we can't tell overweight kids it's not good to be fat and instead are telling them fat is beautiful when it only means a lifetime of health problems.

A perfect example of how judging and shaming has good outcomes is smoking. The peer pressure not to smore and the growth in perception that smoking was a shameful habit did encourage many people to quit as well as stop others from taking up smoking in the first place. We need to do the same with obesity. Frankly, given that there is a very high correlation between obesity and hospitalization with COVID, this should be a perfect opportunity to have a national dialogue about weight and obesity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least people are kinder now. In the early 2000s, cruelty about weight was horrific. There’s never any need for that.

Meh, I think there is.

Fat kids in the 70s and 80s got teased relentlessly. I was one of those kids. It made me want to work to get skinny. The teasing was motivation.

My niece is fat and there's nothing to motivate her to lose weight. If a doctor even brings it up, she and her friends will put that doctor on blast on social media. People are now selling "don't weigh me unless medically necessary" cards to hand out to doctors. She shakes her ass on TikTok with all kinds of hashtags about her beauty and body positivity. Sorry, no, there's nothing positive about being 350lbs except the fact that you're probably not going to get kidnaped or sex trafficked. She has terrible knee issues, gets winded walking through a grocery store, doesn't fit in most restaurant booths, and is diabetic... none of those are positives.

There needs to be some degree of bullying to toughen people up and act as motivation to change.

Exhibit 1 why obesogenic industries are laughing their way to the bank. With people like PP around, they don't even need to pay their lobbyists. PP does their dirty work for them.

What is an obesogenic industry?

Industries contribute significantly to obesity. Essentially, the industries that are to obesity what Big Tobacco is to cancer and smoking-related deaths.

Which industries specifically?

I think they mean companies that make “junk” food and/or processed foods. Comparing food to drugs is ridiculous though. But whatever. Everyone is fat and no wants to take ownership of their own poor eating and lifestyle habits. It is the food industry’s fault, it is the school’s fault, it is your changing micro biome from plastics…I got it.

You might want to learn a bit more, PP: https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwil-fPi5uP1AhUauMgKHc65CgQYABAEGgJxdQ&ae=2&sig=AOD64_3GiFfy_OSaKmWUddP0p2Ye8zsxQw&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwi2i9_i5uP1AhXhl3IEHdijBqIQ9aACegQIAhBC&adurl=