why were people so skinny in the 70s?

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  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    Fuzzipeg wrote: »
    You got it, wheelhouse. My gripe with the 1970's low fat diet is exactly as you say. In my view it was falsely directed at cardiac patients as it was overly low in omega 3, beneficial animal fats/protein and this sort of thing, placing the emphasis on low value carbs. We needed more scientific information and we are not there yet.

    I once worked in a care facility where the manager did not understand that not all diabetics needed the amount of white bread she was wanting to push onto this one person. Saying, "she can always have 2 slices of bread, when the person was trying to reject it because, although elderly she knew her system best, wanting protein!

    If I recall correctly, the recommendations from the studies highly recommended fish as a good source of animal fats and proteins, which would have been great for their Omega 3 EFAs as well. So much of good research gets perverted when it hits the corporate marketing machine.
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,563 Member
    CaptBligh001 wrote: »
    People are always looking for a boogeyman like trying to blame the younger generation of being lazy or they like to blame food additives like high fructose corn syrup, but the answer is very simple. All you need to do is overlay a poverty rate by year chart and an obesity by year chart and you will see that as the poverty rate declines the obesity rate goes up.

    It's simple prior to about 1976 there were far more people living in poverty then there is today.

    Interestingly enough the rate of people overweight but not obese hasn't changed much since the 1970's

    But see, here we go again picking one possible correlation and pointing the finger. I agree more disposable income is a potential contributing factor to rising obesity rates, but you can also correlate less activity during the same time period, for instance. There are other strong correlations as well that include things like changing social mores (the fat acceptance movement, greater availability of trendy plus sized clothing).

    The bottom line is that there are no credible studies that I'm aware of that definitively pinpoint a single root cause of the obesity epidemic, and many credible studies that correlate a number of things (income included as you pointed out) that contribute.
  • Bry_Fitness70
    Bry_Fitness70 Posts: 2,480 Member
    Another factor is the jobs we do today. In the 1970s there were still a lot of blue collar jobs that paid well but required a degree of motion. Now, most of our manufacturing jobs went overseas and the remaining ones are a lot of service and office jobs that entail sitting on our a**es 8+ hours a day.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    Bry_Fitness70 wrote: »
    Another factor is the jobs we do today. In the 1970s there were still a lot of blue collar jobs that paid well but required a degree of motion. Now, most of our manufacturing jobs went overseas and the remaining ones are a lot of service and office jobs that entail sitting on our a**es 8+ hours a day.

    Even many of the blue collar jobs aren't as active as they were in the 70's either. Many of the blue collar jobs involve monitoring machines rather than doing heavy lifting, but most will still be far more active than a typical office job, that's for sure.
  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,301 Member
    No corporate marketing machine, just the NHS in three different regions! No mention of fish back then. Just skimmed milk, marge, oats for porridge, white bread, little red meat if any, meat had to be lowest fat possible, salad leaves, 1970's style no dressing, veg, yes not roast unless in highly questionable refined veg oil. Then as much vinegar as you could take to rid yourself of any fat that got through! Now I count, did not help any of those five! They had all been through the privations of rationing, one had been a starved pow! None had been over weight either, simply had heart issues.
  • Kullerva
    Kullerva Posts: 1,114 Member
    Cocaine. Also heroin. Also speed.

    Speed was legal in this state back then. They prescribed it to pregnant women. *smh*
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    edited March 2018
    Kullerva wrote: »
    Cocaine. Also heroin. Also speed.

    Speed was legal in this state back then. They prescribed it to pregnant women. *smh*

    Yeah, it was a diet drug, I mentioned that already, but drugs like heroin and cocaine are more popular today than in the 70's, and meth keeps you really thin. You really have no clue what was going on then.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    edited March 2018
    Bry_Fitness70 wrote: »
    foreversnafu wrote: »
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    You obviously weren't around during the '70s, so we couldn't possibly expect you to remember the TV commercials with the Lucky Charms leprechaun ("always after me Lucky Charms!"), Tony the Tiger (Frosted Flakes - "They're GRRRREEEEAAAT!!!), the Flintstones advertising Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles, Cap'n Crunch, Count Chocula, Frankenberry and Boo-Berry, the "Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!" bird, Toucan Sam for Fruit Loops, etc.

    Yeah, but my point is you had one TV, maybe two, with 5 channels tops, targeting children between the hours of 7-9am, and 3-6pm. There wasn't much room left to compete between adults and teenagers.

    The only time slot that was needed to reach a young boy in the 1970s was between 8am -noon on Saturday morning when all of us were watching cartoons. All of the cool toys and all of the sugary cereals and snacks

    PS. I was curious about the lineup, and found this, the schedule in 1976 (for all of you reminiscing Gen X'ers)!

    ABC
    8AM - The Tom and Jerry/Grape Ape/Mumbly Show
    9AM - Jabberjaw
    9:30AM - Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour
    10:30AM - The Krofft Supershow

    CBS
    8AM - Sylvester and Tweety
    8:30AM - Bugs Bunny/Road Runner
    9:30AM - Tarzan
    10AM - The Shazam!/Isis Hour
    11AM - Ark II
    11:30AM - Clue Club

    NBC
    8AM - Woody Woodpecker
    8:30AM - Pink Panther
    10AM - McDuff, The Talking Dog
    10:30AM - Monster Squad
    11AM - Land of the Lost


    Krofft Super Show! I had such a crush on Dyna Girl lol.
  • kellyjellybellyjelly
    kellyjellybellyjelly Posts: 9,480 Member
    wizzybeth wrote: »
    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    misskitty2018 wrote: »
    they rode bikes,skateboards, danced and walked to the park to play. they ate basic meals without them adding 100 ingredients AND we were broke/poor so couldn't spend much money on groceries. Now days...it seems as though we have to have a recipe a mile long and with bread on the side. dessert every night. the list is endless.

    Yup!! I often talk about this change too, whenever I can get someone to listen. :)

    Why does food always have to be a "recipe" now??

    What an odd odd string of conversation this is. I have three of my grandmothers cookbooks. She had all sorts of recipes handwritten as well as the actual cookbooks... She wrote them on the pages at the front and back of the book plus stuck them on tablet paper in between the other pages. Recipes for things like soups, goulash, bread, pies, cakes, meatloaf, meatballs... Not sure where this idea that recipes are some kind of new fangled thing came from. These cookbooks were from the 20s and 30s.

    I think they meant that there could be recipes that bloggers/foodies post that might need a million ingredients & some that might need an ingredient that's more on the expensive side.
  • kellyjellybellyjelly
    kellyjellybellyjelly Posts: 9,480 Member
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    fb47 wrote: »
    sgtx81 wrote: »
    I know this is a couple of decades off (1950's) but this is one thing

    8f9b6gg6o93h.jpg

    other than that people use to get a lot more physical activity... today physical activity = checking facebook and seeing what new and wondrous things you can be offended with and whine about

    Let's not forget, back then people went to restaurants on special occasions and most cooking were home meal cooking. Nowadays, it's common to see people at restaurants/fast food chains almost every day.

    Again, another statement that makes me wonder a) if you were alive in the '70s, and/or b) if the experience was really that different in different places.

    We went out to eat quite often - at least as often as we do nowadays. Definitely at least once a week, sometimes more, and 100% definitely not just for special occasions. Sometimes it was a chain restaurant, sometimes a mom-and-pop place, sometimes fast food.

    Mom wasn't June Cleaver of the '50s, chained to the stove in her gingham dress cooking a stereotypical "home cooked dinner" every single night. Sometimes her "home cooked dinners" were TV dinners, packaged pot pies, big pans of cheese enchiladas, huge pots of chili served with cheese, sour cream and saltine crackers, etc.

    vlowabncsezt.jpg

    Did you have a big family? I wonder if that played a part in how often people went out to eat back then & could account for other's experience?

    I wasn't alive in the '70's (83), but wonder how much did fast food, dining out at mom & pop, junk food, or food cost in general?

    I know my mom told me to go see Aerosmith it cost her around $5.00-$20.00.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    kellyjellybellyjelly wrote: »
    wizzybeth wrote: »
    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    misskitty2018 wrote: »
    they rode bikes,skateboards, danced and walked to the park to play. they ate basic meals without them adding 100 ingredients AND we were broke/poor so couldn't spend much money on groceries. Now days...it seems as though we have to have a recipe a mile long and with bread on the side. dessert every night. the list is endless.

    Yup!! I often talk about this change too, whenever I can get someone to listen. :)

    Why does food always have to be a "recipe" now??

    What an odd odd string of conversation this is. I have three of my grandmothers cookbooks. She had all sorts of recipes handwritten as well as the actual cookbooks... She wrote them on the pages at the front and back of the book plus stuck them on tablet paper in between the other pages. Recipes for things like soups, goulash, bread, pies, cakes, meatloaf, meatballs... Not sure where this idea that recipes are some kind of new fangled thing came from. These cookbooks were from the 20s and 30s.

    I think they meant that there could be recipes that bloggers/foodies post that might need a million ingredients & some that might need an ingredient that's more on the expensive side.

    He seemed pretty clearly to be saying that people use recipes now (and cook more elaborate meals) and did not then. He seems to be comparing apples (every day food back in the day made by experienced cooks) to oranges (food you have at a dinner party or nice restaurant or made by a cooking newbie).
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,021 Member
    It's also now a time for LONG commutes for many because living in cities cost way more. And even just s 20 mile commute can take an hour or longer. So for 2 hours a day, people are caught up in high stress traffic (without accidents) and it's not uncommon to snack and graze 2 hours a day on calorie dense foods.
    My parents lived 5 miles from the Air Base that they were stationed at and were usually home by 5:30-6pm in time for my mom and pop (both cooked) to make dinner and help with homework. You don't see that a lot today.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    It's also now a time for LONG commutes for many because living in cities cost way more. And even just s 20 mile commute can take an hour or longer. So for 2 hours a day, people are caught up in high stress traffic (without accidents) and it's not uncommon to snack and graze 2 hours a day on calorie dense foods.
    My parents lived 5 miles from the Air Base that they were stationed at and were usually home by 5:30-6pm in time for my mom and pop (both cooked) to make dinner and help with homework. You don't see that a lot today.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    This chart in this link just goes to 1980 but the average commute in 1980 was just under 22 minutes, in 2015 it's about 26.5 minutes.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/02/22/the-american-commute-is-worse-today-than-its-ever-been/?utm_term=.1655383b8a2a

    It goes go on to say, the number of people with "extreme commutes" is growing fastest as a group, even though the average hasn't changed enough to make a significant difference in anyone's life.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited March 2018
    Possibly even if commute time hasn't changed the number of people with all sedentary commutes is higher. For example, one thing driving down the average commute time (masking a larger difference between the '70s and now) is people working at home, but they could end up being even more sedentary than someone who commutes by, say, train.

    I have a longer than average commute time -- I live about 5.5 miles from the office and yet have a 45-50 min commute on average (I sometimes run home or to work (my gym is right near my office) or bike there and back, which is nice multitasking) -- but even when I take the L it's not a negative for my fitness since I walk about 10 min to the L and back, plus a much shorter distance from the L to my office. And if the L takes forever to come I can pace on the platform or get off a stop or two early and walk from there (for example I usually walk the extra blocks to Merchandise Mart from my office on the way home, as it takes less time than going around the Loop and is more active).
  • kellyjellybellyjelly
    kellyjellybellyjelly Posts: 9,480 Member
    cc102296 wrote: »
    cocaine

    Wasn't that more of an '80's thing & not everyone did stuff like that.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    I attended 2 large public universities in the late 70's. At that time most of the students walked to class as there were significant parking restrictions around the campuses. I was recently at both schools (basically same physical layout and number of students vs 70's) now there are shuttle buses running all around the campus. When I attended there were shuttles for students with disabilities, but not for the general student body. The students walked to class.

    Guess what, the students are fatter.

  • mabelgrex
    mabelgrex Posts: 24 Member
    people were not "so skinny" they were a normal body type, people are heavier today at all ages
    I was in HS in the 70's and I think I knew one overweight person, at the time she seemed really fat, looking back she was not compared to now.
    fat kids never,

    many many reasons for this, not going to type them out as I think it's been covered in the 40 pages here but it's a sorry state we are in now
  • xbowhunter
    xbowhunter Posts: 1,305 Member
    In the 70's I was a lean machine with abs...LOL It helps when I was born in 69 & was an active little brat... :)
  • beaglady
    beaglady Posts: 1,362 Member

    kellyjellybellyjelly wrote: »
    I know my mom told me to go see Aerosmith it cost her around $5.00-$20.00.

    The first concert I went to, in either '74 or '75 was Mott the Hoople, Queen, and the 'new' band Aerosmith. Tickets were $5.00.

    I don't remember a lot of food prices, cause I was in high school, but a gallon of milk, picked up at the dairy in a glass bottle, was $1.25. White bread was 2/$1. Individual bags of potato chips and Tastycakes were a quarter.

    My high school job was at McDonalds, and a small cheeseburger, small fry and small drink cost less than $2. I was paid $2.10 an hour.
  • Kelkat405
    Kelkat405 Posts: 166 Member
    Does it seem like kids are taller now? I walked into my child’s middle school and it seemed like kids were a lot taller than when I was in school.
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