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1980s definatly, and back..Why were people more fit, toned and healthy Looking?

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  • wunderkindking
    wunderkindking Posts: 1,615 Member
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    wunderkindking wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    MsCzar wrote: »
    I was
    wunderkindking wrote: »
    So, so many snacks.

    Having an afternoon snack right after school was a solid tradition. We lived near a Hostess Bakery outlet and boxes of Ho-ho's, Banana Flips, Snowballs and Zingers could be had for 50¢. We kids thought nothing of polishing off half a box in one go. Little Debbie apple cakes didn't last long either.

    Of course the activity after the snack was going outside and playing not sitting on a video game eating more snacks like now.

    Well, sometimes I'd have a snack and read a book or play with paper dolls or draw on the Etch-a-Sketch. Modern kids didn't invent sedentary hobbies. There probably are trends in physical activity that are relevant here, but I feel like this conversation overall is really flattening out differences and assuming an experience of 1980s life that is not necessarily accurate.

    Agreed.

    I also feel like it's treating the 80s like it was a million years ago and an entirely different world.

    No.

    We had prepackaged snacks. Video games. Television/cable. EVEN ELECTRICITY AND INDOOR PLUMBING.

    Heh, that's exactly what I've been thinking -- it's the 1980s, not Little House on the Prairie!


    I keep both cracking up about it and being overcome by memories of me asking my dad if they had color when he was a kid (because of black and white tv shows) and feeling appropriately old.



  • michelle_FR
    michelle_FR Posts: 202 Member
    Wait, the answer’s cocaine right?
  • sdailly13
    sdailly13 Posts: 37 Member
    Ready made meals, Huge supermarkets taking over the local smaller butchers, fishmongers etc where you planned what you were buying in each shop for your weekly food needs. Technology was becoming a regular pastime. Eating out was no longer a treat but the norm. I could go on but you get my meaning. And as always the poorest people suffered the worst in this changing society.
  • MsCzar
    MsCzar Posts: 1,077 Member
    Penny_Loafers wrote: »
    Wait, the answer’s cocaine right?

    That's what I said back when this thread was started. Chances were, those thin bodies on TV, in magazines and in films reflected a the acceptance of cocaine use as a chic thing to do. I remember attending a posh wedding back in the day where every table had a 'special' centerpiece decorated with colorful straws. Whenever I watch old episodes of 'Love Boat' or any of those 80's shows, there is no shortage of very thin women and energetic-looking men. "Fitness" is not the first thing that springs to mind.

  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,460 Member
    Again in the 50s, our tv was a 9-inch black and white with poor reception. It’s the only one I ever saw like it, except in pictures. All my friends families had larger color TVs. We got a big color tv when I was 12 or 13?
  • Speakeasy76
    Speakeasy76 Posts: 961 Member
    I'm an 80's kid and not only do I clearly remember having a boatload of unhealthy snacks in the house, but we also had cable TV AND video game systems and computer games. I definitely played outside a lot when I was younger, but as we got older our activities became more and more sedentary.

    Ironically, my mom has never struggled with her weight..or at least not that I was aware of.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    MsCzar wrote: »
    I was
    wunderkindking wrote: »
    So, so many snacks.

    Having an afternoon snack right after school was a solid tradition. We lived near a Hostess Bakery outlet and boxes of Ho-ho's, Banana Flips, Snowballs and Zingers could be had for 50¢. We kids thought nothing of polishing off half a box in one go. Little Debbie apple cakes didn't last long either.

    Of course the activity after the snack was going outside and playing not sitting on a video game eating more snacks like now.

    Well, sometimes I'd have a snack and read a book or play with paper dolls or draw on the Etch-a-Sketch. Modern kids didn't invent sedentary hobbies. There probably are trends in physical activity that are relevant here, but I feel like this conversation overall is really flattening out differences and assuming an experience of 1980s life that is not necessarily accurate.

    Yeah. It's almost starting to feel like that other debate thread a while back - I think it was about how people lost weight before calorie counting, or something like that - in which one guy asserted that people couldn't lose weight in the 1960s, because we didn't know about calories yet. 🙄

    1980s: Outdoor play only, no snacks, ubiquitous cocaine, back before supermarkets. Jeez.

    In popular culture it feels like the 1980s have already been wrapped up in the blanket of a cuddly "idealized past." The things perceived as their fears and concerns are painted as quaint, things that trouble people today are perceived as working well then.

    Kids were really kids then, women were really women, food was really food, eating out was always special, etc.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,189 Member
    corinasue1143 wrote: »
    Again in the 50s, our tv was a 9-inch black and white with poor reception. It’s the only one I ever saw like it, except in pictures. All my friends families had larger color TVs. We got a big color tv when I was 12 or 13?

    We had two or three of those in the house during the 70s/80s -- they were freebies/inticements for opening new accounts at some financial institution.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,189 Member
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    MsCzar wrote: »
    I was
    wunderkindking wrote: »
    So, so many snacks.

    Having an afternoon snack right after school was a solid tradition. We lived near a Hostess Bakery outlet and boxes of Ho-ho's, Banana Flips, Snowballs and Zingers could be had for 50¢. We kids thought nothing of polishing off half a box in one go. Little Debbie apple cakes didn't last long either.

    Of course the activity after the snack was going outside and playing not sitting on a video game eating more snacks like now.

    Well, sometimes I'd have a snack and read a book or play with paper dolls or draw on the Etch-a-Sketch. Modern kids didn't invent sedentary hobbies. There probably are trends in physical activity that are relevant here, but I feel like this conversation overall is really flattening out differences and assuming an experience of 1980s life that is not necessarily accurate.

    Yeah. It's almost starting to feel like that other debate thread a while back - I think it was about how people lost weight before calorie counting, or something like that - in which one guy asserted that people couldn't lose weight in the 1960s, because we didn't know about calories yet. 🙄

    1980s: Outdoor play only, no snacks, ubiquitous cocaine, back before supermarkets. Jeez.

    In popular culture it feels like the 1980s have already been wrapped up in the blanket of a cuddly "idealized past." The things perceived as their fears and concerns are painted as quaint, things that trouble people today are perceived as working well then.

    Kids were really kids then, women were really women, food was really food, eating out was always special, etc.

    Girls were girls and men were men.
    Mister, we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again...

    ;-)


    Gee, our old LaSalle ran great. Those were the days.

    (when I was a kid, I always heard it as "Mystery could use a man like Herbert Hoover again." Very confusing. I thought Herbert Hoover was a movie detective like Sherlock Holmes or Charlie Chan.)
  • ythannah
    ythannah Posts: 4,393 Member
    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    wunderkindking wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    MsCzar wrote: »
    I was
    wunderkindking wrote: »
    So, so many snacks.

    Having an afternoon snack right after school was a solid tradition. We lived near a Hostess Bakery outlet and boxes of Ho-ho's, Banana Flips, Snowballs and Zingers could be had for 50¢. We kids thought nothing of polishing off half a box in one go. Little Debbie apple cakes didn't last long either.

    Of course the activity after the snack was going outside and playing not sitting on a video game eating more snacks like now.

    Well, sometimes I'd have a snack and read a book or play with paper dolls or draw on the Etch-a-Sketch. Modern kids didn't invent sedentary hobbies. There probably are trends in physical activity that are relevant here, but I feel like this conversation overall is really flattening out differences and assuming an experience of 1980s life that is not necessarily accurate.

    Agreed.

    I also feel like it's treating the 80s like it was a million years ago and an entirely different world.

    No.

    We had prepackaged snacks. Video games. Television/cable. EVEN ELECTRICITY AND INDOOR PLUMBING.

    I have to admit, my comment were from a point of view of a child growing up in the 60's and 70's so not video games (maybe someone that was rich had a Pong at their house, other than that late 70's video games were at an arcade or bar). TV consisted of 3 networks plus an educational and independent station. TV geared to kids was mainly Saturday mornings. Cable was the early 1980's.

    That's what I remember too. Twelve or thirteen channels, although more than two required a cable subscription where I lived. You got up to change the channel or adjust the volume in my house. I think corded remote controls might have been a thing in other people's houses. Space Invaders was an arcade game in the very early 80s but pinball machines outnumbered computer-style games.
  • wunderkindking
    wunderkindking Posts: 1,615 Member
    ythannah wrote: »
    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    wunderkindking wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    MsCzar wrote: »
    I was
    wunderkindking wrote: »
    So, so many snacks.

    Having an afternoon snack right after school was a solid tradition. We lived near a Hostess Bakery outlet and boxes of Ho-ho's, Banana Flips, Snowballs and Zingers could be had for 50¢. We kids thought nothing of polishing off half a box in one go. Little Debbie apple cakes didn't last long either.

    Of course the activity after the snack was going outside and playing not sitting on a video game eating more snacks like now.

    Well, sometimes I'd have a snack and read a book or play with paper dolls or draw on the Etch-a-Sketch. Modern kids didn't invent sedentary hobbies. There probably are trends in physical activity that are relevant here, but I feel like this conversation overall is really flattening out differences and assuming an experience of 1980s life that is not necessarily accurate.

    Agreed.

    I also feel like it's treating the 80s like it was a million years ago and an entirely different world.

    No.

    We had prepackaged snacks. Video games. Television/cable. EVEN ELECTRICITY AND INDOOR PLUMBING.

    I have to admit, my comment were from a point of view of a child growing up in the 60's and 70's so not video games (maybe someone that was rich had a Pong at their house, other than that late 70's video games were at an arcade or bar). TV consisted of 3 networks plus an educational and independent station. TV geared to kids was mainly Saturday mornings. Cable was the early 1980's.

    That's what I remember too. Twelve or thirteen channels, although more than two required a cable subscription where I lived. You got up to change the channel or adjust the volume in my house. I think corded remote controls might have been a thing in other people's houses. Space Invaders was an arcade game in the very early 80s but pinball machines outnumbered computer-style games.

    Atari was out in the late 70s - and not prohibitively expensive, albeit with just a few games. Nintendo was out with games aand popular by the mid 80s.
  • azuki
    azuki Posts: 38 Member
    I would say the ease, cost, and availability of processed food skyrocketed since the 1980s.
  • Mellouk89
    Mellouk89 Posts: 469 Member
    edited June 2021
    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    MsCzar wrote: »
    I was
    wunderkindking wrote: »
    So, so many snacks.

    Having an afternoon snack right after school was a solid tradition. We lived near a Hostess Bakery outlet and boxes of Ho-ho's, Banana Flips, Snowballs and Zingers could be had for 50¢. We kids thought nothing of polishing off half a box in one go. Little Debbie apple cakes didn't last long either.

    Of course the activity after the snack was going outside and playing not sitting on a video game eating more snacks like now.

    I don't know when did this change occur but I grew up in the ealy 2000s and we were outside most of the time. We did play videogames but it was mostly at night, during the day we were doing stuff outside.

    I don't know what it's like today. I know it's more socially acceptable to be a gamer nowadays, but in my days it was looked down upon, kind of.
  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,861 Member
    ythannah wrote: »
    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    wunderkindking wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    MsCzar wrote: »
    I was
    wunderkindking wrote: »
    So, so many snacks.

    Having an afternoon snack right after school was a solid tradition. We lived near a Hostess Bakery outlet and boxes of Ho-ho's, Banana Flips, Snowballs and Zingers could be had for 50¢. We kids thought nothing of polishing off half a box in one go. Little Debbie apple cakes didn't last long either.

    Of course the activity after the snack was going outside and playing not sitting on a video game eating more snacks like now.

    Well, sometimes I'd have a snack and read a book or play with paper dolls or draw on the Etch-a-Sketch. Modern kids didn't invent sedentary hobbies. There probably are trends in physical activity that are relevant here, but I feel like this conversation overall is really flattening out differences and assuming an experience of 1980s life that is not necessarily accurate.

    Agreed.

    I also feel like it's treating the 80s like it was a million years ago and an entirely different world.

    No.

    We had prepackaged snacks. Video games. Television/cable. EVEN ELECTRICITY AND INDOOR PLUMBING.

    I have to admit, my comment were from a point of view of a child growing up in the 60's and 70's so not video games (maybe someone that was rich had a Pong at their house, other than that late 70's video games were at an arcade or bar). TV consisted of 3 networks plus an educational and independent station. TV geared to kids was mainly Saturday mornings. Cable was the early 1980's.

    That's what I remember too. Twelve or thirteen channels, although more than two required a cable subscription where I lived. You got up to change the channel or adjust the volume in my house. I think corded remote controls might have been a thing in other people's houses. Space Invaders was an arcade game in the very early 80s but pinball machines outnumbered computer-style games.

    In the UK we had 3 channels - can’t remember when 4 came in but there was a LOT of excitement. Until we all worked out we didn’t have the reception (unless you lived in London) and went back to our VHS. Friday night was spent staring the videos in the local rental shop, hoping someone hadn’t taken the one copy of the film you wanted. TBH, living in a semi rural area, download speeds were so bad that we probably kept the rental business of films going 🤣
  • dolorsit
    dolorsit Posts: 92 Member
    And no remote controls back then, well, not til later. Think of all the calories expended getting up to change to one of the other two channels.
  • ythannah
    ythannah Posts: 4,393 Member
    dolorsit wrote: »
    And no remote controls back then, well, not til later. Think of all the calories expended getting up to change to one of the other two channels.

    And the calories expended getting up to fiddle with the rabbit ears (antenna) to improve the reception when things got a little fuzzy,
  • Onedaywriter
    Onedaywriter Posts: 326 Member
    Didn’t read the entire thread yet so sorry if I’m repeating!
    I was born in’61 so I was there! People were definitely more fit then in general. A “fat” (and that’s the term used then) person was smaller then than an overweight person is now, and clearly obesity rates were much lower.
    This got me thinking so I did some research. The reports are long so I’ll sum up a little.
    Two important points:
    1) a higher percentage of meals are prepared outside the home now. Also, of meals “prepared” at home a much higher percentage are pre- packaged foods (like frozen dinners, frozen fish cakes etc).
    2) fast food chains have upped the calories in everything in order to compete with each other.

    Please see:
    https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/90228/eib-196.pdf
    And
    https://jandonline.org/article/S2212-2672(18)32383-9/fulltext
  • candysashab88
    candysashab88 Posts: 74 Member
    People use to move around more. We are more sedentary as a nation now then 50 yrs ago. Most of us work at a desk. Netflix has replaced the socialization of the past in the neighborhood. People used to cook their own food and relied less on processed food. I'm sounding like one of those old freaks, but it'skinda true
  • Speakeasy76
    Speakeasy76 Posts: 961 Member
    Motorsheen wrote: »
    I have absolutely nothing of value to contribute to this thread. (or much anywhere else.)

    I was just looking for an excuse to post this gif.

    It somehow makes sense here..... maybe.

    giphy.gif?cid=ecf05e4753fffmgpd8ro23fuc6cqgs5d67ndd3ky40u8rcqe&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g



    .

    I am old enough to have done some exercise videos that weren't too much different from these! Granted, when I bought them they may have been a tiny bit outdated, but I did buy these Cher video brand new:

    https://sarahmn.tumblr.com/post/145270932272/umis-the-internet-aware-of-chers-workout-video
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,460 Member
    Commonly seen on TV when I was a kidu2p36wrw07y2.jpeg

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