Easier to lose in the 80s?

tomatoey wrote: »

senecarr wrote: »

tomatoey wrote: »

newyorkcitymom wrote: »

But it's all calories in calories out. IF people are struggling they just need to weight their food and be more accurate loggers. Sarcasm of course. Obvious point being that people were no more likely to accurately log and use a digital scale in the 80s either

So if we can assume that people were just as likely to err in portion / calorie estimation or logging (although this could have changed, seems unlikely), that's constant, and other things come into play, no?

Why do we assume, in a culture that has actually adopted calorie and protein in their daily vocabulary, that there is an equal tendency to log exercise, physical activity, and food just as correctly. Particularly in a culture that is growing in its willingness to shame those things as the connection between them and obesity (which has been shamed the whole time, but not as strongly linked to the prior things in the past)?

I was thinking about what are thought to be universal cognitive biases. It seems unlikely that our basic memory or tendency to underestimate portions has changed dramatically. Someone above pointed out that portion sizing might make throw another wrench in there, though, that seems plausible.

It's possible that emotional responses to norms might affect reporting - though tbh, without digging much further, I'd guess shaming of bodies and food choices was just as common back then (just with different targets). What reason do you have for believing that's changed?

Re body shame, if anything, overweight and obesity are considered to be more socially acceptable now than before.

I also say exercise shaming is almost becoming a thing. I've seen some people on the boards here who go off on posters over things like calling themselves active "but they only take X steps a day, how dare they! If you aren't taking at least x+500 steps, you're clearly sedentary category, I get that mean steps going in and out of the shower!" To which I end up thinking "well I am severely jealous of the size of your shower, and wish it had a nicer owner."
So back in the 80s, someone might have gone outside and walked, played hoops, who knows what, and wouldn't think of it as activity or exercise. Now we track. We consider. We know exactly what things we were doing that are physically active because we know we can use it as a shield: "Yeah, I'm fat, but I'm trying. I know walked X today. I spent at least 20 minutes using a stand desk! I swear. Janis doesn't even get up to get her own coffee! I walk over the 15 steps and stand at the machine for her (sure it's while I'm getting mine but still, she's not honest normal weight, she's lazy normal weight). I'm a normal person in a fat body, please don't view me as part of the other tribe. please!"

And now I'm wondering why I'm writing up these weird narratives, but there you have it.

jgnatca wrote: »

LOL at @Senecarr . It looks too much like a dog collar to me.

Eh, fancy dog collars on people just let me pretend they're living a spicier life than I am.

daniwilford wrote: »

I remember the 80's quite well. IMHO it was more difficult for me to lose weight then, than now. There are more low fat and no fat dairy options today. Boneless, skinless poultry is everywhere today. Larger selections of fish, frozen vegetables, and fruit, with 1000% more variety in the produce section today. There is more education on exercise, especially weight training, and many more fitness centers and gyms. Employers and insurances include wellness incentives like free gym memberships and exercise equipment.

...more education on exercise, yet recess and physical education/interscholastic sports programs have been severely cut at many schools - leaving already more-sedentary kids even more sedentary and not placing any emphasis or importance on exercise or physical fitness. Both parents work in many families, leaving "latchkey kids" to fend for themselves on packaged, microwaved meals. Sedentary, obese kids with poor exercise and eating habits are becoming (and have become) sedentary, obese adults with poor exercise and eating habits.

We've become a much more sedentary society. We e-mail or text instead of walking down the hall, kids play video games or sit around on their phones instead of being outdoors playing sports, riding bicycles, etc. Kids don't walk or ride their bikes to school - they're dropped off and picked up by their parents. In most job fields, workers are more leashed to their desks/computers than ever before. Restaurants take pride in their huge, "supersized" meals which could easily feed two or three adults. And since 1 of 3 children and 2 of 3 adults are overweight or obese (according to nih.gov), it's become the rule rather than the exception.

I don't buy the black helicopter, tinfoil hat environmental pollutants stuff. I don't have a study to quote, but I'm sure that air quality nowadays is several orders of magnitude better than it was in the '80s. Did anybody live near Los Angeles or any other large metropolitan area back then? I did, and I remember the orange smog that blanketed the city most of the time. There has been such a concerted effort to reduce environmental pollutants, chemical dumping, emissions controls on vehicles, etc. since then that I find it extremely difficult to believe we're living in a worse time now. Nor do I buy that smog or 'teh toxinzzz' are making us fat. China is absolutely filthy with toxic chemicals and pollution by comparison, yet their obesity rate is considerably lower - 5% in the country and 20% in the large cities (according to the World Health Organization). Curiously enough (or not), China attributes their growing obesity problems to increasingly sedentary lifestyles and the spread of the Western "fast food" culture in their country.

jgnatca wrote: »

Sooooo, you are hoping they catch on with other people?

Sure. If a woman in a collar wants to talk to me about how it ties into her oral fixation, I'll pay for coffee.