Why we’re fatter than in the 1950s
 

"We’re in the midst of an obesity crisis, despite being obsessed with diet & clean eating. In the 1950's people were significantly thinner, whilst being less conscious about what they were eating..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nzjiTQk9DQ

I asked my Grandmother born in 1906 lived to 94 what she used to eat for breakfast. She said the normal stuff.... I said what was that. She said they only had eggs, bacon toast usually.

I suspect it is a collection of issues. Fake food, additives, no exercise/hard work, GMO's, hormones in meat, salt, cooking oils, starches....

Cereal companies were founded on what was perceived to be better for you foods.

Junk & heavily processed foods, plus less physical activity in our daily lives are the major causes. :(

I wish I was fatter than in the 1950s! I was a skinny little runt then, and now I'm a scrawny old woman. I actively try to put on weight but it won't stick.

Joking aside, I'm horrified when I see children these days all flaunting what we used to call beer bellies.

When I was a kid we had fire, but the wheel hadn't been invent yet.
:D
I was a child during the fifties and there were overweight people, but they were very few.
Now every time I go out in public I'm alarmed by the number of not only overweight, but grossly overweight people waddling around. Yesterday I spent most of the day at the DMV (dept. of motor vehicles. There can't be a more miserably inefficient organization on the planet) and was appalled at the number of people who were outright obscenely fat. Derrieres three fee wide and bellies hanging halfway to their knees. Just plain gross!
Fast/processed food and the electronic age are the causes in my opinion, but, then, one has to throw in lack of exercise, which, in turn means people are just too lazy to keep themselves fit. They must not ever look in a mirror.

I think some of it is gene makeup, granted it maybe caused by the environment/ what is in our foods. I have know several people over the years that work out everyday and could run circles around most fitness freaks, but you couldn't tell it by looking at them. How can you account for those who are skinny at the top and overweight at the bottom and vice-vesra.

Genetics play a part, but lack of activity and/or exercise has a great deal to do with it. If you spend all day sitting in your desk chair or on your couch, you are going to be, if you don't exercise, "bottom heavy."
OTOH, I've seen people who will never be slim no matter how hard they try. I know a lady, who as a teenager, looked just like her mother (overweight) and no matter what she did she never had a good figure, unlike her older sister who didn't look anything like her mother and had a very good figure. That is genetics, but if you
don't exercise even the lucky people with good genes will turn to fat (depending on their eating habits).

It's easy to see how much or how little genetics have to do with it. When I was growing up, every school had one or two fat kids. Presumably their problem was genetic. But our genetic constitution hasn't changed much since then (if you consider the white population only so to get a fair comparison with the 50's) and practically all modern children are overweight. So it can't be genes, can it. It's got to be fast food and lack of exercise.

When the apocalypse comes down.

The cinder blocks, steel grills, bbq sauce. Will be working overtime.

Edit: The secret is in the sauce. Just being pragmatic.

There is no single factor. It's the combination of a more affluent society, fast/junk food and many people just driving everywhere instead of walking and in some cultures it's also down to diet, with more fats and starches being consumed.

There are people who subscribe to a gym to offset or "pay" for an otherwise unhealthy eating regime/lifestyle.

From my viewpoint: Genetics play a huge part. Please be assured I'm not talking about human genetics.


It's a lot in the food.

GMO is genetically messing with stuff that shouldn't be messed with. For example: With corn. Today's farmers get a MUCH higher yields per acre than they did years ago. *BUT* the "feed" value of today's corn is much lower than it was years ago, not to mention all the so called "safe" weedkillers absorbed into today's corn. Years ago it was possible to fatten pigs on just corn. A neighbor(who used to feed just corn years ago) tried it recently, It just doesn't work anymore.

So if a pig can't get fat, surely people wouldn't either, right? Actually if you're eating "NULL" foods, you have to eat so much more to get the value you need, Not to mention the chemicals messing with you.


Somebody mentioned fat: Real fat *is* good for you. Of course I'm not talking about vegetable oils, etc. Properly raised animals will have healthy fat in the meat(great for grilling :D). Lard has been used for many many years before obesity became a problem. How many of you have butchered pigs? You can easily tell the difference in pigs that where raised in conventional barn and pigs raised in the woods with proper feed.

I could go on and on but I'm sure you get the point.

Location, location , location.


Hey Changtzu. In your Video. All I see are White People.

Where is the luv?

It doesn't make sense to me that "it's all in the genes" in this case because not only is there no genetic advantage to obesity (unless you're a walrus with nearly an unlimited supply of food and a heavy requirement for "insulation") there are numerous disadvantages not the least of which is early death. Forget aesthetics and what we think "looks gross" as such perceptions are adaptable. What matters is what is efficient... what has the best cost/benefit ratio and that is all about diet and exercise.

Considering the extreme wide variety of diets in various civilizations throughout history it appears that formula is weighted heavily in favor of the "exercise" side and the simple fact is that from a very early age our children and grandchildren engage in far less physical activities on a daily, even hourly basis, at least in most modern societies now as compared to the 50s and even 60s. Diet still matters of course but the key to health is in the balance. Food is fuel, at least good food is, and if you keep taking in more fuel than you burn, it gets stored as fat. Slowly metabolism changes and soon a tipping point is reached that gets ever harder to reverse.

What has changed in modern society since the 50s is convenience and mostly because of (and I rather hate to say it) technology but underneath that is our own odd desires, our motivations. Given a choice almost nobody would choose a life of struggle and most would opt for 55 butlers and maids or 72 virgins all to do our bidding at our slightest whim even though such a life would very likely be both boring and deadly, whereas those in struggle would likely survive even in "interesting times". It is a choice, like to run around all day outside or stay in and watch TV or play video games et al, but the choice is biased in ways that can kill us off now that struggle is more abstract and less physical than it has been for millennia and subject to quantum leaps in decades.

Roky, you are a riot!!!!!

There was an interesting study/note made during both world wars with regards to Obesity and people being overweight in Europe. They noticed that during the war ration years, weight decreased, high blood pressure and weight related health ailments declined significantly and people's health improved. After the wars were over and the rations ended, people began to put weight back on, and those weight related health problems rebounded to equal pre war levels. That pretty much eliminates "genetics", and points towards input/output.

Also, noted in China and Japan, as the large city dwellers begin to adopt a more western diet, there is an increase in obesity and weight related health problems. Again, dispelling genetics as the cause.

PS: I have an old copy of war rations cook book, some very interesting menus in there, all based on limited monthly ration cards, binding is in taters but wealth of info....