why were people so skinny in the 70s?

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  • RonnieLodge
    RonnieLodge Posts: 665 Member
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    So I'm trying to figure out why people were so skinny about 40 years ago vs today....here are some reasons i can think of and i want to know yours:

    1. little to none high fructose corn syrup
    2. more activity.....people didnt sit on their computers and smart phones all day



    these are just two main ones i can think of, anyone else have any ideas?


    I agree 100% with you.

    Also less advertised and readily available junk food.
  • septembergrrl
    septembergrrl Posts: 168 Member
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    The unhealthy parts: Everybody freaking smoked, so there wasn't as much mindless snacking. More people were prescribed diet pills.

    Also, what everyone else said about less processed food in general.
  • jallforme3
    jallforme3 Posts: 38 Member
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    I always tell my mom that they didn't have junk food back in her day, that's the only reason she was so skinny. LOL she does not approve of my humor there! But they didn't have all the options we have today in the world of food she does say..
  • BrotherBill913
    BrotherBill913 Posts: 661 Member
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    Fast food was a rare treat, not an everyday occurrence.

    This^^^^^ My Mom bought KFC about once a month maybeeeee every 3 weeks, was a special " treat "
  • littlelaura
    littlelaura Posts: 1,028 Member
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    people were thin because they ate a lot of good food, even baked goodies too, no redesigned franken foods. They were active, tons of things I recall my folks doing, biking, swimming, tennis, hiking, canoeing, yoga, going to discos, as kids we did most of all those things and we also ran all over, walked all over, played chase or tag, my folks didn't drive anyone anyplace unless it was lightening out or a blizzard. We rode bikes a lot and my friends lived over 5 miles away yet we went back and forth every day in the country, it was great and I could eat anything I wanted without thinking about it at all. I think adults didn't have the work stress as they do today, they worked normal hours, had longer work lunches, and were all always home for dinner together around the table as a family.
  • StacyReneO
    StacyReneO Posts: 317 Member
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    Blow.
  • karylee46
    karylee46 Posts: 55 Member
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    well, my sister and i were barely 100 pounds soaking wet.... and i thought i was FAT! I was just helping out at my kids school during their school photos.. and was surprised and a bit sadden by how many large kids there were.. the skinny ones seem to be the minority. i blame, fast food, low activity and more processed foods.

    i try to keep the process foods to a minum at my house (also because i have graves disease and not really on my "diet"), we dont eat much fast food (well.. heck i have no money and it costs too much) and as far as activities go.. my two youngest are on the cross country track team.. and my oldest is very thin as well. Monday is the annual mountain climb.. me and the kids will be climbing up and down the mountain for the day.. (should take around 4-6 hours)..
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    I grew up in the 60's and 70's. The differences I see are:

    We played outside, there were no video games, our TV got about 4 stations and most of it was stuff kids didn't want to watch anyway.

    My mom cooked all our food, we rarely ate out and I don't remember there being any fast food places near where I lived. The Dairy Queen was the "in" place if you could afford a treat. We had a garden and grew our own veggies that my mom froze and canned.

    We walked to school, we rode our bikes, we did chores like lawn mowing with a push mower or shoveling snow with a shovel.

    Someone fat was considered lazy and slovenly. It wasn't the norm or accepted so you did not want to be the fat person.
  • Zumaria1
    Zumaria1 Posts: 225 Member
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    As a child of the 70's, I can remember playing outside constantly . My mother's rule was to be home before the streetlights came on, and you best believe I stayed out until they turned on. We rode bikes, skated, and walked literally everywhere. In the winter we sledded and had snowball fights and made snow angels. Not stuck in front of 500 channel cable, no XBox or computer games to sit in front of for hours. I remember getting my treats at the local 7-11, my favorites were Now-or-Laters, Slurpees, and a Dill pickle. All of which could be gotten for about $1. Also these treats were maybe a once a week thing, not everyday.

    Like others said, most ate home cooking every night, our dinner was at 6 pm on the clock every evening, my job was to set the table. Also portion sizes were smaller, even when we went to McDonald's small fries and a cheeseburger is like the Kid's Meal of today. No one in my family smoked so it was just lots of physical activity and smaller portion sizes. High calorie or sugary treats were just that, occasional treats. Life was good :)
  • Blondiegrl11
    Blondiegrl11 Posts: 458 Member
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    Everyone smoked and nothing was super sized
  • denfrank
    denfrank Posts: 18 Member
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    Hear dat!
  • cdahl383
    cdahl383 Posts: 726 Member
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    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.

    ^ Yep, agreed!
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    People ate less, moved more.
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
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    People cooked meals at home instead of going out to eat or popping a pizza in the oven.
    Dang... Now I want a pizza....



    Hey, I popped a frozen pizza in the oven tonight :ohwell:
    It fit my calories. Macros, not quite so well, but calories, yes. Steamed some frozen veggies and had some very satisfied kids.

    (Yes, I need to go shopping tomorrow! :laugh:)

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