Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Has anybody considered the fact that in the 50s, people spent much less time in their cars and sitting on the couch watching TV? Instead of eating at McDonalds or Buffalo Wild Wings, people ate at a mom and pop diner or cooked at home? Everyone wants to blame this all on liberalism and less Christianity, but just look at the way we built our cities and neighborhoods in the '50s compared to how we do now.
Bingo. I'm an 80s baby, but grew up in the 90s (teen years). Even back then, relatively recent, I remember as a kid, there used to be tons of kids out and about in the neighborhood playing sports, and being active. I love technology as much as anyone, but I have noticed that for the younger generation, they are way less active than they used to be, and thus, growing up differently. That may be contributing to why you see more obesity, and other things we are seeing. Although, I don't think that explains it all.
In my old neighborhood, when I visit my parents, you never see kids out and about playing sports like they used to. When we were growing up, all of the parents in the neighborhood made the boys mow the lawn and rake leaves. Nowadays, everyone just hire someone to do it. We had to learn how to change car tires growing up; now you just call AAA or more easily, use the app lol. We did a lot of work around the house growing up, now most just hire someone. It's just a different era.
Had an interesting experience with some people of size, yesterday.
Saw a group of them about to tuck into a plate of muffins, and suggested that perhaps they didn't need any muffins. They all looked thoughtful for a moment, and put them back ...... each and every one of them.
They later thanked me for turning their lives around, and one of them has promised to buy me a jet ski.
Americans in general look absolutely gross compared to back then. Not saying I am the best looking person but collectively it's strange how far America has fallen since back then.
So many average looking people back then would be better looking than today's super models. Lack of words for how good looking Americans used to be.
Will be interesting if trends continue by 2030 what America will look like then. Obesity and ailments associated with it are likely to cause healthcare infrastructure to collapse in a decade.
I have to say I was in a book place looking at books that showcased pictures of large gathering events from generations ago and I almost couldn't believe how I saw maybe two people considered obese by today's standards from browsing multiple books.
I also notice in historical photos how feminine women looked back then and how masculine men looked.
I must have looked at 20-30 books of different cities in the early 20th century that had pictures of gatherings and out of 1,000 or so people that I have must have seen, only a few were obese.
Even in the last 20 years people look much different now. People look very, very rough and tattered these days in general.
Run of the mill people a century ago in their 20s and 30s were better looking than today's celebrities. I almost gasped how much the country has declined.
200 pounds back then was like 350-400 pounds today. It's very sad honestly.
I can only imagine how people who visit from countries like Japan must think when they come here.
There have been times as a 5 foot 11 inch and 170 pound guy that I feel like a some of a freak these days as sometimes I will be one of only a few non-obese people in a large gathering.
I was watching a small town America video the other day and remarked how there were hardly any obese people.
The population is much larger so the percentage of any given peoples is larger. It is true that there are more overweight people now, but the severity of the op seems like hyperbole.
I grew up in the 90s and early 2000s. Fast food was definitely a thing when I was growing up. Constantly saw adverts for it on TV. When I was a kid, there were certainly a few fat kids, but not like what I'm seeing today. In my family, we occasionally had fast food, but as time went, it was less and less. My father preferred to cook hamburgers at home than buy them from McDonalds or Burger King. After hearing about the pink sludge stuff, I hate McDonalds now. The only thing it's good for is free internet and coffee.
A&W? I always thought that was just pop.
The more pertinent issue lies in the lack of adequate physical activity across all spectrums.
Actually, we have some very smart people in our generations. Alot of them just don't go into politics anymore. Many just stick to science, technology, math, and engineering.
I have been extremely unimpressed by our supposedly intelligent people. Even our philosophers seem to be dumber than they have ever been. I realize that most scientists and engineers aren't public-figures and don't do interviews, but the ones who do, like Bill Nye and Neil DeGrasse Tyson, are an embarrassment to humanity.
We are more advanced than them technologically, but that probably has more to do with accumulated-knowledge than it does the brilliance of our scientists.
Having lived in in Fort Lauderdale through the past five decades I have a great test: just look at pictures of college students on Spring Break here in the Seventies and Eighties, and compare them to those of today.
You will find that young people used to be more fit and natural...
whereas many young people today are fat, out of shape, tatted, and most have had some plastic surgery.
I wonder if folks living in the '50 and '60 said that about their current generation comparing them to those of the '20s and 30's and those in the '20's and 30's about those in the 1800's and so on.
I really dont see anything wrong with moving away from dressing to artificially enhance how we naturally look. I remember watching my mom dress, all 95lbs of her, in her cross your heart pointy bra, garter belt and stockings, slip, Morticia Adams skirt, blouse, scarf, stiletto heals, bright red lipstick and hair that she had put in rollers the night before the doused with hair spray to keep those perfect curls in place. And watch my friends mom sit in front of her Mary Kay lighted cosmetic mirror dabbing on and blending three shades of foundation, three shades of rogue, two shades of lipstick, eye shadow, eye liner, mascara and then draw on her eyebrows. No thanks.
Sounds horrible all that she had to do. But worse yet, the women in the Gone with the wind era who had to wear ball gowns, and laced up corsets, squishing their ribs and having to put on so many layers of hot clothing ugh!!! That might be worse.
Aside from that, nowadays you have too much anti-shaming groups of people - Fat shaming (so that the person can love their 300 pound overweight body and you better dare not say anything about it to them).. And now i have seen a pic of mannequins for men who have a Dad-Bod, i guess they are inTarget. Not too attractive.
But speaking of what you said above, just watch All in the Family, they cant do what they did back then, i.e the episode where Edith goes into the bank to get a small $500 loan and the banker treats her really bad and that would not be tolerated today. In the 1950's or so, mothers took their little yellow helper (tranquilizer) to handle life's stresses.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
