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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Complex question. I know.

Please share your theories as to why.

No fast food. Families ate meals together.

There was plenty of fast food in the 70s.

[Anonymous]

Several have mentioned smoking. In the 70s and 80s about 20-25% of adults smoked, compared to less than 15% now. You could literally smoke anywhere. In a hospital room, in your office, on airplanes, in stores, there were smoking areas at high schools, teachers smoked in the teacher's lounge.

So not everybody smoked but it was pretty commonplace and accepted.

[Anonymous]

My moms family was overweight in the 50s, 60s, and even earlier. No one on that side of the family is normal sized. Genetics, I think, or maybe it’s because they have always been low income and lived in the country. Are poorly and there was nowhere to walk to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My moms family was overweight in the 50s, 60s, and even earlier. No one on that side of the family is normal sized. Genetics, I think, or maybe it’s because they have always been low income and lived in the country. Are poorly and there was nowhere to walk to.

Yes.

We had student smoking lounges in our high school in the 80s. I think you had to be either 16 or 18 to use it.

I also remember we had cigarette vending machines. Once in 6th grade my friend and I ran down to the corner bar with some money and got her mom a pack of cigarettes from the vending machine while she was at a school meeting.

Oh, the 70s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Complex question. I know.

Please share your theories as to why.

No fast food. Families ate meals together.

There was plenty of fast food in the 70s.

There WERE*
Anyway, there are a lot more fast food restaurants today.

[Anonymous]

Re: kids. My kids were born in ‘99 and ‘01, and they both spent the majority of their childhood spending all after school evenings and weekend/summer days outside with neighbors until the sun went down. Biking, building forts, playing ball, etc. Sure, they spent some time on the computer and playing video games, but most of their free time was spent outside. This was the norm for our neighborhood in the 2000s. All the kids came outside after school. I do think that the introduction of the iPhone (and iPad...more video games...etc) drastically changed how much time our kids spend outside. The 70s definitely wasn’t the last generation kids spent outside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just got back from London and this is what struck me. At Heathrow, I (and everyone else) walked quite a distance through the terminal. I'd estimate I walked for a good 15-20 minutes to get to my gate. Once I got to the airport in Newark, that same walk was replaced by a train to the next terminal. Americans are overweight because they consume too many calories and then don't burn them off. I had a few dinners at very expensive restaurants while in London (I wasn't paying so why not?). I had 4 courses and wasn't stuffed when I was finished. I haven't eaten out at a restaurant in the U.S. feeling not completely stuffed in so many years I can't remember how long it's been. The portions are completely ridiculous but after a while, you don't notice it anymore. I'm so used to feeling stuffed and then putting the rest into a take home container.

I don't see any difference between London portion sizes and NYC or San Fran portion sizes. You're comparing London to the US suburbs/exurbs/smaller cities and towns.

I've spent a decent amount of time far outside London in smaller towns and the portion sizes are larger, the food "heartier," the culture is very car-dependent, and people are bigger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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 don't think she was middle class.

Today she is probably one of those dcum self proclaimed $300k salary "middle class" people.

I was middle class. Born in 72, lived in a 3 bedroom ranch, dad was a govt engineer, and mom stayed home. We had two cars, a station wagon and a VW bug. I did not know a single family with only one car, including my lower middle class grandparents.

Engineer in the 70s was really more like upper middle class.


https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/demo/tables/educational-attainment/time-series/p20-390/tab-01.pdf

Of all people in the US 25 and older, less than 20% had 4 or more years of college in 1980.

I think, again, that we tend to underestimate our class status even now, and looking at the past (when higher ed and professional jobs were scarcer) adds some distortion.

Don't know about your grandparents. I certainly did not mean to say that NO lower middle class HHs had two cars - I am sure in this big country quite a few did. But it was far from universal, even outside the cities where cars were least needed.

[Anonymous]

Everyone I know has a cleaning service or housekeeper. Have you recently done heavy cleaning yourself? Or tried to get under a car or do a DIY project? These things cause you to sweat - what a workout!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Complex question. I know.

Please share your theories as to why.

No fast food. Families ate meals together.

There was plenty of fast food in the 70s.

There WERE*
Anyway, there are a lot more fast food restaurants today.

NP & ummm no, There WAS. Not sure how you could possibly think were. Unless you think it says fast food restaurants. It doesn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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 don't think she was middle class.

Today she is probably one of those dcum self proclaimed $300k salary "middle class" people.

I was middle class. Born in 72, lived in a 3 bedroom ranch, dad was a govt engineer, and mom stayed home. We had two cars, a station wagon and a VW bug. I did not know a single family with only one car, including my lower middle class grandparents.

Engineer in the 70s was really more like upper middle class.


https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/demo/tables/educational-attainment/time-series/p20-390/tab-01.pdf

Of all people in the US 25 and older, less than 20% had 4 or more years of college in 1980.

I think, again, that we tend to underestimate our class status even now, and looking at the past (when higher ed and professional jobs were scarcer) adds some distortion.

Don't know about your grandparents. I certainly did not mean to say that NO lower middle class HHs had two cars - I am sure in this big country quite a few did. But it was far from universal, even outside the cities where cars were least needed.

Yes.

An engineer was very white collar/upper class in the 70s.

What was considered an upper class house was much smaller and simpler in the 70s, so that is most likely distorting her view of her family as being middle class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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 don't think she was middle class.

Today she is probably one of those dcum self proclaimed $300k salary "middle class" people.

I was middle class. Born in 72, lived in a 3 bedroom ranch, dad was a govt engineer, and mom stayed home. We had two cars, a station wagon and a VW bug. I did not know a single family with only one car, including my lower middle class grandparents.

Engineer in the 70s was really more like upper middle class.


https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/demo/tables/educational-attainment/time-series/p20-390/tab-01.pdf

Of all people in the US 25 and older, less than 20% had 4 or more years of college in 1980.

I think, again, that we tend to underestimate our class status even now, and looking at the past (when higher ed and professional jobs were scarcer) adds some distortion.

Don't know about your grandparents. I certainly did not mean to say that NO lower middle class HHs had two cars - I am sure in this big country quite a few did. But it was far from universal, even outside the cities where cars were least needed.

Yes.

An engineer was very white collar/upper class in the 70s.

What was considered an upper class house was much smaller and simpler in the 70s, so that is most likely distorting her view of her family as being middle class.

Engineers were considered very white collar. Same with chemists, etc. Engineers in the defense industry were very well paid in the Cold War Era and it was considered a job of great national importance and highly respected. Engineers in corporations were also considered very white collar. Engineers were the white collar folks who designed cars, machines, etc. and the blue collar workers built them.

[Anonymous]

Food was more expensive then and required a higher percentage of one's income:

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/03/02/389578089/your-grandparents-spent-more-of-their-money-on-food-than-you-do

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was a fat kid in the 1970s. I played outside all day long, we had one car and no central a/c until the 1980s in our 4 bedroom 2 1/2 bath house. Our food came from huge gardens that my grandparents maintained and we would get a slaughtered cow and pig that would go in the deep freezer for use all winter. I was still fat. I have struggled with my weight all of my life.

PP again. We had one car because my mother didn't drive until my I was about 10. My dad was a white collar guy (banking) and my mom was a teacher. I definitely moved a lot more without it being purposeful (eg walking, biking, running v. going to a gym) as a kid. I didn't play sports, though. I took music, dance, art classes. We ate meals together as a family -- breakfast and dinner -- every day. My mom packed my lunches. No fast food. No sugary cereal. No snacking other than fruit. I was a fat kid.

[Anonymous]

9:29 again

My parents weren't fat.