[Study] Why It Was Easier to Be Skinny in the 1980s

[Veganist]

A new study finds that people today who eat and exercise the same amount as people 20 years ago are still fatter.

A study published recently in the journal Obesity Research & Clinical Practice found that it’s harder for adults today to maintain the same weight as those 20 to 30 years ago did, even at the same levels of food intake and exercise.

The authors examined the dietary data of 36,400 Americans from 1971 to 2008 and the physical-activity data of 14,419 people from 1988 to 2006. They grouped the data sets together by the amount of food and activity, age, and BMI.

They found a very surprising correlation: A given person, in 2006, eating the same amount of calories, taking in the same quantities of macronutrients like protein and fat, and exercising the same amount as a person of the same age did in 1988 would have a BMI that was about 2.3 points higher. In other words, people today are about 10 percent heavier than people were in the 1980s, even if they follow the exact same diet and exercise plans.

“Our study results suggest that if you are 25, you’d have to eat even less and exercise more than those older, to prevent gaining weight,” Jennifer Kuk, a professor of kinesiology and health science at Toronto’s York University, said in a statement. “However, it also indicates there may be other specific changes contributing to the rise in obesity beyond just diet and exercise.”

Just what those other changes might be, though, are still a matter of hypothesis. In an interview, Kuk proffered three different factors that might be making harder for adults today to stay thin. First, people are exposed to more chemicals that might be weight-gain inducing. Pesticides, flame retardants, and the substances in food packaging might all be altering our hormonal processes and tweaking the way our bodies put on and maintain weight. Second, the use of prescription drugs has risen dramatically since the 1970s and ’80s. Prozac, the first blockbuster SSRI, came out in 1988. Antidepressants are now one of the most commonly prescribed drugs in the U.S., and many of them have been linked to weight gain. Finally, Kuk and the other study authors think that the microbiomes of Americans might have somehow changed between the 1980s and now. It’s well known that some types of gut bacteria make a person more prone to weight gain and obesity. Americans are eating more meat than they were a few decades ago, and many animal products are treated with hormones and antibiotics in order to promote growth. All that meat might be changing gut bacteria in ways that are subtle, at first, but add up over time. Kuk believes that the proliferation of artificial sweeteners could also be playing a role.

The fact that the body weight of Americans today is influenced by factors beyond their control is a sign, Kuk says, that society should be kinder to people of all body types. “There’s a huge weight bias against people with obesity,” she said. “They’re judged as lazy and self-indulgent. That’s really not the case. If our research is correct, you need to eat even less and exercise even more” just to be same weight as your parents were at your age. The exercise part is perhaps one area where Old Economy Steve doesn’t have an edge. A membership at one of the newfangled fitness centers of 1987 would go for about $2,800 per year in today’s dollars, and that’s still what it costs today.​

It's Harder for Millennials to Stay Thin Than It Was for Boomers

A new study finds that people today who eat and exercise the same amount as people 30 years ago are still fatter.

www.theatlantic.com

fatcels vindicated

 

[BitchBoy]

Dnr

 

[alurmo]

What could this mean

 

[Deleted member 23558]

higher PUFA less cigarettes end of story

 

[Deleted member 54067]

higher PUFA less cigarettes end of story

plenty of people eat garbage diets full of pufa and are thin, why are you so obsessed with it jfl

 

[PseudoMaxxer]

higher PUFA less cigarettes end of story

cigarettes make you fat?

 

[Gonthar]

It's because in the 1980s Romania was communist, food was in limited quantities and some products were even rationed, you had to wait in huge lines to get your hands on some food, so there were very few fat people back then.

 

[Deleted member 42399]

Can confirm. It's extremely hard to lose weight in 2024 @_MVP_

 

[Deleted member 23558]

cigarettes make you fat?

No I meant more

 

[Deleted member 23558]

plenty of people eat garbage diets full of pufa and are thin, why are you so obsessed with it jfl

No

 

[Deleted member 54067]

No

nice iq

 

[bourgeoizyzz]

yes, eating is magical. it's not that people lied about their habits

 

[Deleted member 30959]

Thyroid

 

[Kelly Oubre Jr]

Just what those other changes might be, though, are still a matter of hypothesis

i wonder what it could be

people are exposed to more chemicals that might be weight-gain inducing.

are normies finally awakening?

is a sign, Kuk says, that society should be kinder to people of all body types.

never mind . J fucking L

 

[Veganist]

yes, eating is magical. it's not that people lied about their habits

you didn't read the OP retard, shut the fuck up

no one wants to read your brain-farts, understand this

 

[bourgeoizyzz]

you didn't read the OP retard, shut the fuck up

no one wants to read your brain-farts, understand this

The authors examined the dietary data of 36,400 Americans from 1971 to 2008 and the physical-activity data of 14,419 people from 1988 to 2006. They grouped the data sets together by the amount of food and activity, age, and BMI.

 

[zerotohero]

Seed oils.