People Always Look Skinny in Old Photos!

michelefloyd

Hi. I live in England now but am American by birth (lived in Indiana until I was 30.) My "people" were from Kentucky and I know they ate what we call nowadays "crap" yet in all the old photos everybody was thin! Even people who are very obese now were only modestly overweight just 30 years ago.

I remember going down to visit and being served the following breakfast -

Biscuits and sausage gravy
Fried potatoes
Scrambled eggs
Bacon
Sausage

Notice the virtual lack of vegetables! Supper wasn't much better - Fried pork chops, ham and beans, fried chicken, more biscuits, corn on the cob, cornbread... I was born to love all this kind of food but I can't even think about touching any of it now (except maybe the eggs) without putting on weight.

What is so different? Okay, we have more modern conveniences but is it really that much different? I was born in 76 so I do kind of remember back when so many more people were thin.

beccyleigh

Just my take on it.

People were more active, women generally were doing most chores manually, alot of our modern conveniences have made us lazy, people expended a lot more energy then watched less tv, no home computors.

I was born in 75 & remember walking 5-6 miles with my mother to visit my grandmother for an hour or two, the walk would take longer than the visit, we had a car but never used it all the time.

Just general changes in our lifestyles, also packaged food & ready meals became popular around that time, we never had a freezer till the mid 80's so most of our food although quite carb & fat laden was always fresh cooked & with fresh meat & ingredients.

SueInAz

Fast food was around but not so prevalent as it is today. Moms usually stayed at home and made meals, even like the ones you described, instead of picking up McDonalds or pizza on the way home from work. Kids played outside and were active outside of school hours. Video games didn't exist in 1976 beyond Pong and neither did the personal computer. People might still have sat in front of the TV but there were only 4 channels so there wasn't always something on to watch.

michelefloyd

You both bring up good points. It's something I think about a lot. Like I mentioned, people were so much thinner when I was a kid. We used to go to Kentucky a few times a year up until about 95 (when I went off to university.) As a 29 year old (and pretty thin) I went back in 2006 just before moving to England. I remember being amazed by how most everyone had grown obese except for the older folks.

I moved to England just assuming that the European lifestyle would mean I'd virtually vanish in terms of size. Wrong! I gained 60 pounds within a year, and I still fight to keep it off. My wake up call was the looks I got when I visited Indiana in 2008. They had never seen me obese. It's just bizarre because I'm doing my same old thing, but with a lot less fast food and more walking. Mom says it's because I'm older and that's life.

Anyway, I'm trying this website and doing aerobics (Zumba wii) but if all I need to do is maybe go back to the old ways... that would be fabulous. I am being tongue in cheek, of course. I don't want to do more chores and don't think I'd like it without my computer. I'm just frustrated by how I can't seem to match my lifestyle to my ideal weight any more without a lot of effort.

michelefloyd

Oops, forgot to mention I married in early 2007 and I know marriage is supposed to be the death knell for anyone's girlish figure.

DeeJayTJ

i agree with beccyleigh

peopel are not active anymore and kids are also no longer required to do much activity in school anymore if its physical.

its sad, but most people walk to their car and to the office and then back to the car and to the house and then sit on the couch until its time to go to sleep.. and do the same thing over and over everyday.

no one does anything but be lazy.

bhalter

Agreed, people were a lot more active. Also - I've heard that the size of dinner plates have increased a lot. So back then, a full plate was a lot smaller than what it is now.

plzlbsbegone

Also, I don't think there were as many processed convienence foods around to snack on! they ate 3 meals a day and were more active.

TinaDay1114

I agree with you girls -- I was born in 1970, and I don't think I stayed inside much at all when the weather was good. And I helped my mom maintain 3+ acres of yard and fields, and hauled firewood. My parents still do all that stuff, and they're 71 and 73, and still in good shape.

I also wonder if more additives and artificial sweeteners in everything is having an impact. I know we had some of that growing up (Cheetos was one of my favorite snacks, not to mention TV dinners when mom and dad were out), but...? I also wonder about the hormones in meats. I try not to be a nutjob about this stuff, but I wonder if that's why teenagers look like they're 25 by the time they're 12...?

RachelT14

Agreed, people were a lot more active. Also - I've heard that the size of dinner plates have increased a lot. So back then, a full plate was a lot smaller than what it is now.

Definelty, my mum has a set of plates she was given when she got married in 1970 and she uses them for my children when they visit for meals as the are bigger than side plates but smaller than modern dinner plates.

I also remember the walking everywhere thing as well, we only had one car as did so many famillies and it was usually used by the parent who worked (or if they both worked the one who had further to go) But as a child i dont think i ever went to school in the car, whatever the weather, We had raincoats, we had wellies we used them.

77tes

My guess is less processed food, less fast food, and more activity. Let's face it, fifty years ago if you ate a cookie, someone in the family had to bake it.

I have also heard, but I'm not sure if it's true, that the use of corn syrup during Johnson's presidency changed the American diet.

ShapeUpSidney

people were smaller in general...I have a house built in the 19th century, and looking at these closets makes you wonder how narrow their shoulders were back then

claireputput

I believe a major contributor to obesity is the lack of education regarding our diets. We do have alot of automation and are definitely burning less calories. While we burn less calories, we consume much higher concentrations of fats and carbs. As long as there is no balance in our intake and output the problem of obesity will escalate. Bottom line, educational settings is where this information needs to be dessiminated as most parents lack the knowledge to educate themselves, much less their children.

MaximalLife

Hi. I live in England now but am American by birth (lived in Indiana until I was 30.) My "people" were from Kentucky and I know they ate what we call nowadays "crap" yet in all the old photos everybody was thin! Even people who are very obese now were only modestly overweight just 30 years ago.

I remember going down to visit and being served the following breakfast -

Biscuits and sausage gravy
Fried potatoes
Scrambled eggs
Bacon
Sausage

Notice the virtual lack of vegetables! Supper wasn't much better - Fried pork chops, ham and beans, fried chicken, more biscuits, corn on the cob, cornbread... I was born to love all this kind of food but I can't even think about touching any of it now (except maybe the eggs) without putting on weight.

What is so different? Okay, we have more modern conveniences but is it really that much different? I was born in 76 so I do kind of remember back when so many more people were thin.

We've since become a nation of lazy, entitlement-minded fatties.

People are undisciplined and inactive. Further, fattening foods abound to satisfy our gluttonous population.
America the beautiful is now America the FAT!

michelefloyd

This is not a new topic, I know. It's common knowledge that obesity is an issue now. But won't it always be an issue if the lifestyle we *naturally* fall into is one that conflicts with good health? When we all used to walk places, cook our own food, etc,, we didn't do it because we were watching our weight. We *had* to do it and it scarcely crossed our minds to go about it any other way.

Maybe I'm having a "this is unfair!" moment but I can't help but think that we spend so much time as a society punishing people for being overweight when what we're actually asking them to do is go against human nature. It's hard to cure laziness when people are already programmed to look for the best and easiest way to do things.

This is my deep thought for the day, incidentally.

lipglossjunky73

I am guessing very few parked themselves on the couch fir the night with a pint of Ben and Jerrys and/or family size bag of potato chips.....

lipglossjunky73

This is not a new topic, I know. It's common knowledge that obesity is an issue now. But won't it always be an issue if the lifestyle we *naturally* fall into is one that conflicts with good health? When we all used to walk places, cook our own food, etc,, we didn't do it because we were watching our weight. We *had* to do it and it scarcely crossed our minds to go about it any other way.

Maybe I'm having a "this is unfair!" moment but I can't help but think that we spend so much as a society punishing people for being overweight when what we're actually asking them to do is go against human nature. It's hard to cure laziness when people are already programmed to look for the best and easiest way to do things.

This is my deep thought for the day, incidentally.

That is not by nature. That is definitely "nurture"

dlcam61

I was also born the same year As we get older (dare I say) our metabolism slows down. Our bodies are not able to rapidly adjust & burn off the extra calories from the crap food. And, if we don't stay active with cardio & weights our lean muscle mass begins to deplete rapidly as you hit your mid 20's to early 30's. This further lowers your basal metabolic rate. Therefore, you are burning even less calories at rest. Then finally, processed foods. They are pure crap. We are all guilty of eating them either at some time in our lives or even now, but even enriched processed foods are not as good for you as eating whole foods. These processed foods are broken down into simple substances so your body doesn't have to work very hard to finish digesting them and absorb them. If you want to be technical, these so called foods are partially digested to begin with. Gross. Hope that helps! :flowerforyou:

SueInAz

We've since become a nation of lazy, entitlement-minded fatties.

People are undisciplined and inactive. Further, fattening foods abound to satisfy our gluttonous population.
America the beautiful is now America the FAT!

Don't just slam the U.S. This is a world-wide epidemic in developed countries. If there's one thing that MFP has shown me, through my friends in many countries, it's this.

Michele, I think you're right. We, humans, have been developing better and easier ways to do things for tens of thousands of years, starting with fire and the wheel. I find it a little humorous that we spend hours in the gym or on the sidewalks burning the calories that our great-greats burned just to survive another day or season.

michelefloyd

When you're talking about diet and attitude towards exercise, then I agree it's nurture. But I'm saying that by nature, humans constantly look to make their lives more comfortable. I don't doubt that people 500 years ago would have swung by McDonalds for supper if they had the money and Ray Kroc. They weren't more virtuous just because they're older than we are. They would have loved a new microwave and Facebook.

I hope that makes a bit more sense. Lots of coffee today so my fingers are flying.

Fatbuster205

I was born in 1962 and we always ate fresh food which my Mum prepared. There was little in the way of processed foods, and all we had was a 12 inch ice box - no freezers. Mum stayed at home and had a mangle washing machine - she didn't get an automatic until the late 70s. I spent so much time in the garden (we had a third of an acre and a lot of grass to cut and leaves to collect!), in the gym (I was a gymnast), dancing (ballroom, Latin and contemporary), and trampolining competitively until I was 22! We were really active! Also we didn't have cars - as an undergraduate it was really only third year medics, and some post grads who were allowed them on campus so I walked or rode my bike for years, including when I started teaching until I passed my driving test and got my first car. I stayed active until an injury to my back resulted in a 5 stone weight gain! I have currently 33 lbs (2 stone 5 lbs) still to lose but I am getting back to being active and I love it!