Obesity in the 70s

Ok, we're watching an old TOTP from 1977 (ancient as we are). Well I was 6 and he is 5 years older than me. Anyway, I made the remark that the biggest people on stage or in the audience would be pushing average weight now, if that.

What's happened culturally and economically? Ok I know the obvious things... Technology blah blah blah; but I'm more interested in the shift in psyche.

food is tastier now. everything is just so....tasty.

Yeah, cheese tastes more cheesey, eggs more eggy, milk more milky...

Why didn't I think of that?

and so much choice! it's all so heavenly i just can't help myself

You could have chowed down in the 70's too, it wasn't a point of war or famine.

Whilst I think they were around in the 70's, I have a feeling it was only the 80's / 90's that saw them 'integrated' in to our way our life.

cougie wrote (see)

The only food ads I remember from the 70s were for Smash. That's enough to put people off food. I'm going with the everything is tastier now theory too.

You remember Spangles and Pacers though? But that's an aside. My mum used to cook big family meals and we ate it all... Macaroni cheese followed by apple crumble, what's not to love?

Maybe what I remember as big as a child is very different to a 'child's' portion now? I don't know but I did hear on the radio this morning that 1/3rd of 10 year olds are already overweight or obese.

I can just about remember the 70s , but I do seem to remember that far more family meals were cooked from scratch, rather than the processed stuff a lot of people rely on today.

cougie wrote (see)

Spangles and pacers were special treats.
People have more money now - so they can spend more on food ?

I think that's too simplistic Cougs, food was cheaper then, it's all relative. I think that (sweeping generalisation alert) our relationship with food has changed.

IronCat5 in the Hat wrote (see)

I remember Pacers! We ate proper meals and I'm sure things were less sugary.
My daughter is overweight for her age.

Mine aren't, but I think that's more genetics than anything we've done. I let my kids eat anything and they always seem to have regulated their own appetites from an early age. No food is bad or off limits, with this I'm trying to get them to see food as fuel, tasty fuel, but not wrapped in complex emotional ties.

You want to eat a whole box of chocolates and feel sick as shit? Knock yourself out...

It's worked since they were small and even my chocoholic 8yr old will regulate herself.

"I want 8 chocolate buttons because I'm 8"

End of.

Millsy1977 wrote (see)

There was no such thing as diet food back then. In the early 80s I probably spent as many hours playing football, riding chopper bikes and climbing trees as I do now marathon training. Back then it was normal but now people think I'm somehow extreme for doing 9 hours exercise a week.

Diet food is shit and overpriced, but people fall for it. Much better to adopt the French pattiserrie (however you spell it) formula. Back to real butter, milk etc... Produce something rich and indulgent and satisfying in smaller portions; and if you savour the taste and eat slowly, it fuels you properly for longer.

What about Fanny Cradock and the Galloping Gourmet - OK so there weren't so many TV chefs - but then there wasn't as much TV. 

I think a lot of it is just that we are more sedentary - more sedentary kids, more sedentary jobs.   A lot more cars - people drive to an out of town supermarket or shopping centre rather than walk round town etc etc.   In the 70s a lot of the older generation had been used to rationing in their youth too so that must have helped shape their eating and cooking habits.  

 edit - in fact they wouldn't have to be that old in the 70s to have experienced rationing

Certainly not as much fast food.  Don't remember McDonalds opening in our town till I was at least 13, now there's a road near here with at least 20 takeaways.