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

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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.  [/quote]

Social norming is definitely a thing.

Something I haven't seen anyone else mention in this thread is that so much more is automated now.
- car windows (then) winding cranks vs. (now) electronic button
- car steering (then) manual vs. (now) automatic 
- tv channel changes (then) kid runs to turn the knob on the tv vs. (now) remote
- lawn mowers (then) basic push mower vs. (now) power drive 
etc. etc.

Not many calories used in each, but a couple of calories extra used many times every day adds up. Obviously this would not be one of the main contributors, and there are many, many things contributing to our current obesity epidemic. [/quote]

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