why were people so skinny in the 70s?
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As someone around in the 70s I would say they were not skinny. Yes, overall population wise they were less fat, but there we still many people who were overweight. Most others have touched on why, but basically, between the 1950-60s and the 2010s there have been huge changes culturally that have largely contributed to the increase in obesity today. It was already a developing issue in the 1970s though.0
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cocaine4
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Same. I was skinny as a rail in high school and couldn't gain weight even though I was trying to do so. I played sports year-round (football in the fall, basketball in the winter, track&field and spring football in the spring, summer league basketball and football training in the summer). I also raced bicycles, rode dirt bikes (motorcycles) on the weekends and played street football or pickup basketball apart from all the school sports. About the only time I sat still was during classes (and I was still constantly fidgeting) or when I came in the house at night to sleep.I was in high school in the 70's and very active with school - debate, drama and other clubs. Played D&D on the weekends with friends, played football/softball with friends also. I ate fast food as often as I ate home cooked meals - mom had a strict policy of be at the table when I serve food or fend for yourself. Graduated high school weighing 150 lbs (at 5' 8" so right in the BMI range). The difference between then and now - activity, plain and simple.
I ate plenty of fast food, candy, sodas, etc. and my mom cooked a lot of what's called "comfort foods" nowadays. I was almost like a circus act with how much food I could eat, it was off the charts - but so were my activity levels.
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Same. I was skinny as a rail in high school and couldn't gain weight even though I was trying to do so. I played sports year-round (football in the fall, basketball in the winter, track&field and spring football in the spring, summer league basketball and football training in the summer). I also raced bicycles, rode dirt bikes (motorcycles) on the weekends and played street football or pickup basketball apart from all the school sports. About the only time I sat still was during classes (and I was still constantly fidgeting) or when I came in the house at night to sleep.I was in high school in the 70's and very active with school - debate, drama and other clubs. Played D&D on the weekends with friends, played football/softball with friends also. I ate fast food as often as I ate home cooked meals - mom had a strict policy of be at the table when I serve food or fend for yourself. Graduated high school weighing 150 lbs (at 5' 8" so right in the BMI range). The difference between then and now - activity, plain and simple.
I ate plenty of fast food, candy, sodas, etc. and my mom cooked a lot of what's called "comfort foods" nowadays. I was almost like a circus act with how much food I could eat, it was off the charts - but so were my activity levels.
Used to drive my mom crazy because she couldn't keep enough food in the house...She pretty consistently took me to the all you can eat pancake house so my parents wouldn't go broke trying to feed me.5 -
They ate less in general. And indeed they did eat less sugar.7
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More active (no internet/smartphones/video games), less sugar/processed food stuff, more homecooked meals, little to no fast food, oh and drugs lol0
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ZombieKillaPrincess wrote: »More active (no internet/smartphones/video games), less sugar/processed food stuff, more homecooked meals, little to no fast food, oh and drugs lol
What drugs did we have in the 70's that are not available now?
We ate quite a bit of processed food at our house in the 70's. The only Chinese food I had until I was in my 20's came from a LaChoy can. Dinty Moore beef stew, Hamburger Helper, TV dinners, etc.5 -
ZombieKillaPrincess wrote: »More active (no internet/smartphones/video games), less sugar/processed food stuff, more homecooked meals, little to no fast food, oh and drugs lol
I feel like at least some of this is based in our projections of what life was like in the 70s, not what life was actually like in the 70s (my apologies if you actually lived through the era and these are your memories).
Less processed food, little to no fast food . . . I don't know if this describes the 1970s generally, although it may have been the experience of some people then (as it is the experience of some people now).5 -
I was 12 in 1970, so remember them well. I think it was due to activity level. I can remember 'going for a walk' for entertainment nearly every day during good weather. The school bus stopped 1/4 mile away, not right in front of the house like they do now.
My dad was a sales manager for a cookie company, so we always had cookies in the house, and it was acceptable to eat cookies for breakfast. Mom cooked from scratch most days, but we always had dessert for supper, even of it was Jello or instant pudding. Soda and chips were a treat reserved for Saturday nights.
When I turned 15, I got a job at Dunkin Donuts and ate 5-6 donuts every week. I was still thin, cause I was always moving. Same when I got a job at McD's and ate there 3-4 times a week. My parents were pretty active, but had a bit of pudge, that would be considered average size now.
It wasn't until I grew up, started working in an office, drinking beer followed by eating whatever I wanted that I had a weight problem.0 -
Where did people live that there was less processed food and no fast food? Processed food really took off in the 50s after WWII...so did fast food.
My mom did prepare some meals from scratch certainly...but I recall eating a fair amount of mac 'n cheese, hamburger helper, wonder bread, bologna, and cream of whatever condensed soup in numerous "home cooked" meals. My dad was a potato chip fiend...and when he had to feed me because mom was gone, it was usually a slice of wonder bread with beans and weenies on top with a side of chips.
We had more than several McDonalds, Wendy's, A&W, Long John Silvers, Burger King...just to name a few.7 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »Where did people live that there was less processed food and no fast food? Processed food really took off in the 50s after WWII...so did fast food.
My mom did prepare some meals from scratch certainly...but I recall eating a fair amount of mac 'n cheese, hamburger helper, wonder bread, bologna, and cream of whatever condensed soup in numerous "home cooked" meals. My dad was a potato chip fiend...and when he had to feed me because mom was gone, it was usually a slice of wonder bread with beans and weenies on top with a side of chips.
We had more than several McDonalds, Wendy's, A&W, Long John Silvers, Burger King...just to name a few.
My mom was single in the mid to late 70s and she told me that she ate cottage cheese and Tang for breakfast each morning, a peanut butter sandwich on white bread for lunch, and either a sloppy joe or a hot dog for dinner each night. For fruit and vegetables, she says she would sometimes have carrots or an apple but not daily. She didn't get interested in nutrition until she had kids. She also didn't like spending money on food -- her "splurge" was an orange soda.
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My dad was born in the 50s and my grandmother did not cook, so he and his brother were raised on processed food and fast food. They were in their teens/20s in the 70s and they were both very thin, but it wasn’t because they ate home cooked meals, because they didn’t. My grandma and great grandma were also thin, but they did more smoking and drinking than eating.
On the other hand, my mother was raised on home cooked meals. My grandmother cooked from scratch every day, no fast food or processed food at all, and she was obese in the 70s. Not too long ago I was at her house and found an old calorie counting wheel from the 70s that listed calorie counts of common foods. My mother says that my grandmother has been dieting/counting calories since at least the 60s. The idea that there weren’t overweight people or processed foods back then just isn’t true.5 -
I was not born in the 70's but thought this was an interesting anecdote: My Grandma Ruby was poor growing up. Later in life, she always looked the same in every picture as in same weight (not heavy, but not skinny). She specifically wouldn't eat baked potatoes "because they weren't poor" and a few other things - but I can't remember what. Her and my Grandpa ran a farm, so they were relatively in great shape albeit a little bit more to love. Every meal was a feast, from the years I remember, and I think it just stemmed from Grandma Ruby not wanting to appear poor.2
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It’s possible people ate more full fat foods. I’ve been studying Keto and that’s a thought I recently had.6
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janejellyroll wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Where did people live that there was less processed food and no fast food? Processed food really took off in the 50s after WWII...so did fast food.
My mom did prepare some meals from scratch certainly...but I recall eating a fair amount of mac 'n cheese, hamburger helper, wonder bread, bologna, and cream of whatever condensed soup in numerous "home cooked" meals. My dad was a potato chip fiend...and when he had to feed me because mom was gone, it was usually a slice of wonder bread with beans and weenies on top with a side of chips.
We had more than several McDonalds, Wendy's, A&W, Long John Silvers, Burger King...just to name a few.
My mom was single in the mid to late 70s and she told me that she ate cottage cheese and Tang for breakfast each morning, a peanut butter sandwich on white bread for lunch, and either a sloppy joe or a hot dog for dinner each night. For fruit and vegetables, she says she would sometimes have carrots or an apple but not daily. She didn't get interested in nutrition until she had kids. She also didn't like spending money on food -- her "splurge" was an orange soda.
Ah, Tang!
Just like the astronauts. Gosh I loved that stuff! 0 -
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Where did people live that there was less processed food and no fast food? Processed food really took off in the 50s after WWII...so did fast food.
My mom did prepare some meals from scratch certainly...but I recall eating a fair amount of mac 'n cheese, hamburger helper, wonder bread, bologna, and cream of whatever condensed soup in numerous "home cooked" meals. My dad was a potato chip fiend...and when he had to feed me because mom was gone, it was usually a slice of wonder bread with beans and weenies on top with a side of chips.
We had more than several McDonalds, Wendy's, A&W, Long John Silvers, Burger King...just to name a few.
My mom was single in the mid to late 70s and she told me that she ate cottage cheese and Tang for breakfast each morning, a peanut butter sandwich on white bread for lunch, and either a sloppy joe or a hot dog for dinner each night. For fruit and vegetables, she says she would sometimes have carrots or an apple but not daily. She didn't get interested in nutrition until she had kids. She also didn't like spending money on food -- her "splurge" was an orange soda.
Ah, Tang! Just like the astronauts. Gosh I loved that stuff!
We had it in early childhood until my mom got waaaay into nutrition and banished it. I had it a few years ago and it just didn't taste like I remembered, but I figure the change was me. I loved it too!3 -
janejellyroll wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Where did people live that there was less processed food and no fast food? Processed food really took off in the 50s after WWII...so did fast food.
My mom did prepare some meals from scratch certainly...but I recall eating a fair amount of mac 'n cheese, hamburger helper, wonder bread, bologna, and cream of whatever condensed soup in numerous "home cooked" meals. My dad was a potato chip fiend...and when he had to feed me because mom was gone, it was usually a slice of wonder bread with beans and weenies on top with a side of chips.
We had more than several McDonalds, Wendy's, A&W, Long John Silvers, Burger King...just to name a few.
My mom was single in the mid to late 70s and she told me that she ate cottage cheese and Tang for breakfast each morning, a peanut butter sandwich on white bread for lunch, and either a sloppy joe or a hot dog for dinner each night. For fruit and vegetables, she says she would sometimes have carrots or an apple but not daily. She didn't get interested in nutrition until she had kids. She also didn't like spending money on food -- her "splurge" was an orange soda.
Ah, Tang! Just like the astronauts. Gosh I loved that stuff!
We had it in early childhood until my mom got waaaay into nutrition and banished it. I had it a few years ago and it just didn't taste like I remembered, but I figure the change was me. I loved it too!
Tang was one of our treats when we went to Grandma's house! Now it tastes like sadness, but then it was necter!5 -
I have to laugh at the no processed food. Every single day my mom packed me a bologna sandwich, white processed bread and that cheese crap that you have to peel out from the protective wrapping. In school the favorite lunch was on Thursdays: Hamburgers, potato chips, cake and milk. Except for the milk there wasn't one thing healthy about that lunch. Even the hamburgers were processed. But, damn, the chocolate cake was amazing!
If you wanted to go to your friends house, you walked, rode your bike or roller skated. My mom was constantly shoo-ing us out of the house. "Go get the stink blown off you", she'd say.
I was a nerdy person who loved to read but to fulfill my addiction I had to bike to the closest book-mobile, which was miles away. And then try to ride back with a HUGE bag of books.
Bored? It was nothing to hop on my bike and just tool around the neighborhood.
My parents took us out for ice cream at least once a week. In the summers we all rode our bikes to the Dairy Queen.
Air conditioning was a luxury for most people so you went outside. You didn't lounge around inside the house. You ran through sprinklers, you swam at the local pool.
Man, you all are making me nostalgic.......8 -
If you wanted to go to your friends house, you walked, rode your bike or roller skated. My mom was constantly shoo-ing us out of the house. "Go get the stink blown off you", she'd say.
My dad was the same, except he would say “Go play in traffic.” That makes him sound like a horrible person, lol!6 -
Because the "low fat" craze wasn't around then. Fat became the enemy in the 80s--sugar became king.9
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janejellyroll wrote: »ZombieKillaPrincess wrote: »More active (no internet/smartphones/video games), less sugar/processed food stuff, more homecooked meals, little to no fast food, oh and drugs lol
I feel like at least some of this is based in our projections of what life was like in the 70s, not what life was actually like in the 70s (my apologies if you actually lived through the era and these are your memories).
Less processed food, little to no fast food . . . I don't know if this describes the 1970s generally, although it may have been the experience of some people then (as it is the experience of some people now).
Yeah, that's my impression.
For an amusing take on food in the '70s, the Supersizers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-AbfqIQreM 2 -
GregElsasser wrote: »Because the "low fat" craze wasn't around then. Fat became the enemy in the 80s--sugar became king.
It was around in the 70's too. We commonly had "ice milk" instead of ice cream. Ice milk was low-fat ice cream. And margarine full of trans fat was also common.3 -
janejellyroll wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Where did people live that there was less processed food and no fast food? Processed food really took off in the 50s after WWII...so did fast food.
My mom did prepare some meals from scratch certainly...but I recall eating a fair amount of mac 'n cheese, hamburger helper, wonder bread, bologna, and cream of whatever condensed soup in numerous "home cooked" meals. My dad was a potato chip fiend...and when he had to feed me because mom was gone, it was usually a slice of wonder bread with beans and weenies on top with a side of chips.
We had more than several McDonalds, Wendy's, A&W, Long John Silvers, Burger King...just to name a few.
My mom was single in the mid to late 70s and she told me that she ate cottage cheese and Tang for breakfast each morning, a peanut butter sandwich on white bread for lunch, and either a sloppy joe or a hot dog for dinner each night. For fruit and vegetables, she says she would sometimes have carrots or an apple but not daily. She didn't get interested in nutrition until she had kids. She also didn't like spending money on food -- her "splurge" was an orange soda.
How could I forget sloppy joes...and Tang.
vegetables growing up were pretty much canned unless we were at grandma's house because she had a big garden...those weird pale canned peas still haunt my dreams...mac 'n cheese, fish sticks, and weird pale peas...
One of my favorites though was tuna and noodle casserole...mom made it with cream of mushroom soup and then put a crust of potato chips on top...for whatever reason I crave that after a day on the slopes...the last time we went skiing we were meeting up with my mom for dinner afterwards and I asked her to make it and she was all...
She's became quite the health nut after my sister and I grew up and left the house...
Oh yeah...let's not forget about Velveeta cheese...I remember the first time I had real cheddar cheese and I was like...WTF is this?4 -
I was a nerdy person who loved to read but to fulfill my addiction I had to bike to the closest book-mobile, which was miles away. And then try to ride back with a HUGE bag of books.
Bored? It was nothing to hop on my bike and just tool around the neighborhood.
My parents took us out for ice cream at least once a week. In the summers we all rode our bikes to the Dairy Queen.
Oh, the bookmobile!
All this is making me nostalgic too.
We also got to buy ice cream if the ice cream man came around.3 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Where did people live that there was less processed food and no fast food? Processed food really took off in the 50s after WWII...so did fast food.
My mom did prepare some meals from scratch certainly...but I recall eating a fair amount of mac 'n cheese, hamburger helper, wonder bread, bologna, and cream of whatever condensed soup in numerous "home cooked" meals. My dad was a potato chip fiend...and when he had to feed me because mom was gone, it was usually a slice of wonder bread with beans and weenies on top with a side of chips.
We had more than several McDonalds, Wendy's, A&W, Long John Silvers, Burger King...just to name a few.
My mom was single in the mid to late 70s and she told me that she ate cottage cheese and Tang for breakfast each morning, a peanut butter sandwich on white bread for lunch, and either a sloppy joe or a hot dog for dinner each night. For fruit and vegetables, she says she would sometimes have carrots or an apple but not daily. She didn't get interested in nutrition until she had kids. She also didn't like spending money on food -- her "splurge" was an orange soda.
How could I forget sloppy joes...and Tang.
vegetables growing up were pretty much canned unless we were at grandma's house because she had a big garden...those weird pale canned peas still haunt my dreams...mac 'n cheese, fish sticks, and weird pale peas...
One of my favorites though was tuna and noodle casserole...mom made it with cream of mushroom soup and then put a crust of potato chips on top...for whatever reason I crave that after a day on the slopes...the last time we went skiing we were meeting up with my mom for dinner afterwards and I asked her to make it and she was all...
She's became quite the health nut after my sister and I grew up and left the house...
Oh yeah...let's not forget about Velveeta cheese...I remember the first time I had real cheddar cheese and I was like...WTF is this?
Oh, my dad *loved* canned peas. Even when my mom switched to fresher stuff, he would still insist on having them sometimes. He would always get the entire bowl to himself. Nobody else could stand them.
*full body shudder*3 -
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My family still drinks Tang- my dad's personal preference is to drink it warm- like hot tea.
You sort of get used to it after the warm grape fruit revulsion over takes you for a half a second.2 -
My family still drinks Tang- my dad's personal preference is to drink it warm- like hot tea.
You sort of get used to it after the warm grape fruit revulsion over takes you for a half a second.
oh man...I didn't know they still made it. I might have to go find some...I wonder if it tastes like I remember...0
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