Why Were We So Skinny in the 1960s?

Have you ever wondered why everyone was so skinny back in the 1960s?

Well, back then our dietary recommendations were to follow the basic four, which were to eat meat, dairy, fruits and veggies, and grains.

But by the 1970s there was a significant shift that hoped to prevent chronic illness like heat disease.

Emerging science determined that the food we've been eating for hundreds of thousands of years - red meat, saturated fat, and cholesterol were now killing us.

As a result, we now weigh 30 pounds more on average, and heart disease is is the leading cause of death.

And before you jump the gun and say that it's all about excess calories,

The 1941 dietary guidelines recommended that an adult male weighing 155 lbs should consume 3000 calories per day.

But the real problem is that since 1960, our consumption of processed foods, seed oils, enriched grains, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, and pesticides has gone up.

And oddly our beef consumption has gone down 40%

Maybe… we got it all wrong

[marysalmon]

Back in the 60's everyone was eating regular home cooked meals and very few if any snacks. Kids were walking and playing outside. I remember.

[LucitaBrown]

We got plenty of exercise, fresh air, sunshine, sleep, and home cooked meals. Kids today get little or none of those.

[justmejk]

Back then our lives did not revolve around food. We ate small meals at home and walked everywhere. Hardly any down time.

[jasontree]

Why aren't people discussing why are books like "Health and Beauty Mastery" by Julian Bannett being censored for exposing lies health industry and pharma are pushing?

[gregjackson]

I recently lost 25 pounds, put on a ton of muscle and got a six pack. My Mom saw me after 8 months and said I was too skinny. Being in actually good shape is considered skinny now, it's sad.

[bod-essebod-esse]

It wasn’t skinny, these were normal human shapes.

[rougebaba]

I am an older male and I weigh 165 lbs and stand 5' 11". I remember growing up through the 1970's and when I did see a truly obese person, it was an oddity to me. It was unusual. I didn't ponder it much as a child, though when I'd see an obese kid (which was extremely, extremely rare) I felt truly bad for them.
Now, these many decades later, seeing an obese person is an ongoing, daily experience. It has become normal. In fact, it has become so normal that even people my age look at me like I am the odd ball! I literally get body shamed for being what used to be NORMAL!
My wife and I had a friend over recently, one we hadn't seen in a while. My wife weighs a good 35 lbs or more now than she did when we married over 20 years ago... but this woman has likely packed on 80 or more in that same timeframe. As for me, if anything I have lost a couple of pounds over these years. Now it never would have occured to me to step into that room and immediately begin to discuss this woman's weight gain, "Oh my God! You are so fat!". Who would freaking do that to someone?
But for some odd reason, that is exactly what this woman did to me! As soon as i walked into the room where she was, she didn't say hello, or greet me with a smile and hug, or ask how I was doing... Nope, she got this shocked look on her face and exclaimed, "Oh my God! You are so skinny!"
What? I weigh exactly what I weighed when she last saw me!... and yet, she thinks I have become "skinny". The world has been turned on its head!

[jumpercable]

I'm 5'7" and 72 years old, I had a cancer scare that turned out to be false, but I weighed 230 pounds. When I found out I didn't have cancer, I decided to live like I did, I gave up seed oils (highly inflammatory), grains (very little nutrition) and all 262 names for sugar, in 14 months of daily fasting for 18 hours, I lost 82 pounds and got my 6 pack abs back. People were never meant to eat all day long until bedtime.

[ElessarofGondor]

Let’s not forget what else was added to everything around that time, processed sugar. The sugar industry went on a major smear campaign to blame fats etc for heart disease.

[Yassss-rjzf]

Double Dutch, Tag, Kickball, Relay Races, Talent Shows, Climbing Trees, Nature Walks, Hide and Seek, Hop Scotch, Skating, Merry Go Round, Monkey Bars, Swings, Running from Dogs, Break Dancing and Riding Bikes ALL DAY almost every day😊

[jonathanarthur]

In addition to the truthful information you have presented in this video, people in the 1960's were far more active. We didn't have computers, phones & inside activities like video games controlling our lives. We worked, went to the beach, & danced to the music. It was great!!

[fragilesliceofguava]

That is because we used to walk 20 miles to school, uphill both ways, 26 hours a day on one foot, barefoot in the snow, while fighting 5 bears.

[CarolHewett-ugcw]

I'm 75 and was raised on a meat and potatoes diet with homemade desserts. Everyone, including my family, was skinny. There was no snacking. We wouldn't dare open our mother's or grandmother's refrigerator. They controlled the fridge while making 3 home cooked meals per day. And we exercised without realizing it. We walked and bicycled everywhere. We had more blue color jobs and more farm jobs requiring man power. Children played outside all day till dusk unless we were doing chores. Mothers were busy and busier with 4, 5 and 6 children. The problem today is a combination of food additives, snacking and lack of physical activity.

[itsmeaimster]

As a medical coder, I’ve seen heart attacks in people as young as 28. It’s astounding.

[gooberfishin]

Most people worked physically demanding jobs in the 1960’s. By 1970’s, people started doing mostly office work. The lack of physical activity is the cause of our ill health.

[isabellahodge]

In the 60's and 70's I walked everywhere. It was a thirty minute walk to school and the same back, a forty minute walk to the main shops, twenty minutes to my friend's house. My father did have a car but he took that to work so my mother walked to the local shops for groceries, and carried them back. When I got home from school there was no laying around on the couch, I did my homework then helped my mother with chores or played outside with my friends. At weekends my friends and I went swimming, skating, played in the parks etc. If we wanted to go somewhere a bit further my mother would provide the bus fare but we would quite happily walk most places so as to be able to keep the money. Food was provided at home in the form of meals but very few snacks. We got takeaway in the form of fish & chips (I'm in the UK) once a month...we walked to the chip shop of course, no delivery! I remember the excitement of a Wimpy bar opening in town but that was a special treat for birthdays or whatever. So basically we ate plain food at mealtimes, few snacks, few outdoor meals and took lots of exercise. I was skinny till I was in my thirties and got a car.

[TheSingleMumEntrepreneur]

I was born in 1967 and I look back at my childhood photos on the beach etc and there were no overweight people! We used to go out and play in the fresh air; I loved rollerskating every day after school! I walked 2 miles to school (and home again) in any type of weather as we didn’t have a car. We didn’t eat processed fast food. We only had 3 tv channels and no social media. Our mental as well as our physical health was so much better.

[BenandAlisha]

I think it’s portion and serving sizes too. I grew up in Japan my whole life, but recently moved to the U.S. I was constantly in amazement of the portion sizes. It fascinated me at first, but now I’m just always wondering why we need so much. If you’re only comparing fast food, Japans large drink is the size of American small and the happy meal in America is about the same size as Japans medium.

[RaptureatthelastTRUMP]

The issue with heart disease in the sixties was NOT dietary.
It was smoking!!!
Everyone smoked!
By changing the dietary guidelines, they certainly got it wrong!
SMOKING was the leading and still is the leading cause of vascular disease!

[firstchoice]

Plus, everyone walkd a lot more. We walked to school, store, friends houses. We were outside a lot more. Now we will drive if we have to go anywhere further than 6 blocks.