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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Running and working out wasn't a thing back then. My parents were skinny as heck. They played sports but weren't going to the gyn especially as they got older. Both had desk jobs. We lived in a city so not a ton of walking (it wasn't safe). Anyone feel like it's strange?

"Running wasn't a thing back then??" are for real?

+1 Gold's Gym heyday and jazzercise/home stretch aerobics were huge. As were physical fads, bop its, hula hoops, roller skates, pogo balls, skateboarding. "Let's get physical, physical. I wanna get physical..."

[Anonymous]

We also were more active because we weren’t glued to screens. Also food portions were smaller. My family didn’t eat processed foods, but even the families that did ( canned soups, boxes cereals) were still thinner.

[Anonymous]

There are a LOT more prescription drugs that cause weight gain as a side effect these days. I know that's part of my problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dad loves to tell a story about a friend of his who worked a summer job roofing. Every single shingle was hammered in by hand. The whole summer was spent swinging a hammer.

Now the same job would be done with a nail gun - a lot less physical.

In the 70s and 80s there were lots of tasks like that, a lot more things that we do now with machine power that used to be done by hand.

Nail guns have been around since the late 50s. Your dad's friend might have used a hammer, but that doesn't mean that nail guns weren't common or available in the 70s and 80s.

This whole thread is ridiculously full of non facts.

Different PP. While this is true, they used to be a lot more expensive and so were much less common. They were only common for professionals and only a very small number of DIYers. Even professionals, only the really busy professionals had them. If you used a smaller company, they were not as likely to have them. These days, they are pretty ubiquitous to anyone working in the home improvement industry. But I had a roof done in the 1990's and I used a pretty normal roofer. He was a one-man roofer that did smaller homes and townhomes himself. When he got a larger SFH, he had a friend who he would hire for a day or two to help him work. Neither of these guys had a nail gun and did the work by hand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Snacking. Thats the #1 reason in my opinion. Eating between meals never gives your insulin a chance to go down.

I have pcos and my doctor told me I don’t need to snack of I want to lose weight. Three meals, good meals and that’s it. Of course I LOVE to snack.

[Anonymous]

Cocaine, smokes, and sweet n low.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Snacking. Thats the #1 reason in my opinion. Eating between meals never gives your insulin a chance to go down.

For sure. I remember being starving before dinner or when out of the house and just having to wait. Now kids (mine included!) get snacks pretty much on demand. Even if it's fresh veggies before dinner, it's still SOMETHING that's stopping that starving feeling. And portion sizes are enormous. My DH and I often split a burger and a salad at restaurants. He recently commented how funny it is that that's all the meat he needs, then was like "well yep true" when I commented that half of a modern burger is the same number of ounces as an entire burger a generation ago. We have family in Europe as well and visiting is a good reminder that adults don't NEED the portions we all are used to.

[Anonymous]

Internet didn't exist.