why were people so skinny in the 70s?

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Replies

  • MISALJO6
    MISALJO6 Posts: 9 Member
    I was a child of the 70s, and the only things I watched on TV were Gilligan's Island and the Monkees. Oh, and Saturday morning cartoons. Besides that, I was either outside or in bed. My mom never knew who's house I was at. Our toys back then took imagination and good old muscle power to make them work.

    My nickname in the 70s was toothpick, if that tells you anything. What I wouldn't give to have that nickname again. Now, my nickname is Lucy. I wonder if my husband is saying I am too crabby. Hmmm.....
  • MrGonzo05
    MrGonzo05 Posts: 1,120 Member
    MFP hadn't been invented yet.
  • Pixi_Rex
    Pixi_Rex Posts: 1,676 Member
    Drugs... lots of drugs... and sex.
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  • dsjohndrow
    dsjohndrow Posts: 1,820 Member
    Black beauties by the handful.
  • rachaelbarton
    rachaelbarton Posts: 57 Member
    portion sizes at restaurants were smaller. the size of an average hamburger has nearly doubled.
  • NH_Norma
    NH_Norma Posts: 332 Member
    1. No Internet.
    2. No video games.
    3. Home cooked meals (from scratch)
    4. Kids played outside after school.
    5. Parents didn't drive kids everywhere, we rode our bikes or walked.

    THIS! Plus chores...like hauling/stacking wood.
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  • NH_Norma
    NH_Norma Posts: 332 Member
    1. No Internet.
    2. No video games.
    3. Home cooked meals (from scratch)
    4. Kids played outside after school.
    5. Parents didn't drive kids everywhere, we rode our bikes or walked.

    6. Don't forget the evil Sugar!!!

    Sorry, not sugar. My nickname was beanpole, and we would occasionally eat brown sugar on bread and butter. NONE of us were fat then.
  • SnicciFit
    SnicciFit Posts: 967 Member
    People cooked meals at home instead of going out to eat or popping a pizza in the oven.

    ETA: less convenient foods.
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
    1. No Internet.
    2. No video games.
    3. Home cooked meals (from scratch)
    4. Kids played outside after school.
    5. Parents didn't drive kids everywhere, we rode our bikes or walked.

    6. Don't forget the evil Sugar!!!

    Sorry, not sugar. My nickname was beanpole, and we would occasionally eat brown sugar on bread and butter. NONE of us were fat then.
    Damn straight. One of my favorite after school pick me ups was toasted white bread with butter ans corn syrup spread on.
    Then back outside until dinner....
  • jayce54321
    jayce54321 Posts: 110 Member
    Coke.
  • NH_Norma
    NH_Norma Posts: 332 Member
    I think it really boils down to activity level. No cable. No internet. No video games. No computers. No cell phones. Get outside and DO something.

    Huh...and that's my theme to get back in shape. Not that there will be NONE of those things, but certainly get outside and DO something. :)
  • whitebalance
    whitebalance Posts: 1,654 Member
    People cooked meals at home instead of going out to eat or popping a pizza in the oven.
    Dang... Now I want a pizza....

    ETA something on topic: Parents weren't all scared that their kiddos could be abducted if left outside without supervision for more than five minutes... so kiddos were left outside without supervision for more than five minutes. I was outside constantly, and even as a Brownie in third grade I walked the mile or so from school to the troop meeting. And I was one of the sickly ones!

    And yes, restaurant food was a once-a-week thing at most. I mean, I live on the stuff now. Mom's home cooking is the once-a-week treat now.
  • michael1976_ca
    michael1976_ca Posts: 3,488 Member
    1. No Internet.
    2. No video games.
    3. Home cooked meals (from scratch)
    4. Kids played outside after school.
    5. Parents didn't drive kids everywhere, we rode our bikes or walked.

    even in the 80's growing i had to walk to school or later in age take the city bus. i wasn't into sports but i almost always was out side playing with friends or cousins it was good back then. i still rember getting the first nintendo system before that we played card games
  • This show is great. (this is part 1, but all 6 parts are there)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIwJYRX4BjU

    Its been a couple of years since I watched it, but the gist was that they burned SO many more calories just day-to-day

    Here's a link to the full thing:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TLfKKppElU

    You're right, going by this the food in the seventies was actually pretty bad. Lots of processed food and alcohol ... But heaps and heaps more exercise.

    Love this show.
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  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    1. No Internet.
    2. No video games.
    3. Home cooked meals (from scratch)
    4. Kids played outside after school.
    5. Parents didn't drive kids everywhere, we rode our bikes or walked.

    6. Don't forget the evil Sugar!!!

    Sorry, not sugar. My nickname was beanpole, and we would occasionally eat brown sugar on bread and butter. NONE of us were fat then.

    Molasses on bread was one of my favourite after school snacks.

    Chores........yup, shoveling snow in the winter & cutting grass with a push mower in the summer (and that was also my first "job" along with having a paper route)
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
    the 'power' of aggressive marketing, easier access to people for marketing messages and corporations whose thirst for profit at any cost is unquenchable...

    fast food nation gets governments elected.
  • SnicciFit
    SnicciFit Posts: 967 Member
    They ate real food, mostly fresh and there were a lot less genetically modified foods (if any) around. Portion size was also smaller.

    Growing up, my mother made home cooked meals every night from fresh ingredients. We had a different dessert every night but none of us were fat. We had takeaway fish and chips every Friday night, but that was the only take away in our lives. Very occasionally went out for Chinese dinner special occasions.

    We also played sport and walked to and from school every day. Only had one car in the family so walking was the way to get around. If I wanted to go to a girlfriends house (as a teen), I walked there and back.

    Life was much simpler.

    It's funny, because these days I think most people would consider the home cooked meal the special occasion!
  • tificreole
    tificreole Posts: 18 Member
    Less junk food then. People cooked at home more. Not as much advertising for food. Generally less exposure to food product.
    No masterchef programs. Less cars, people too the bus and walked more...
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    Ate less, moved more.
  • ninu13
    ninu13 Posts: 196 Member
    Agree, with the Disco dancing! :drinker: