I’ve seen repeated articles about how high obesity has become, as a percent of our total population. That makes more people prone to high blood pressure and heart disease, as well as diabetes and joint issues; the added weight puts stress on joints, which weakens them. Here’s a research report … then some suggestions of what you can do to address the problem.
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Why It Was Easier to Be Skinny in the 1980s
A study finds that people today who eat and exercise the same amount as people 20 years ago are still fatter.
Olga Khazan
9 September 2019
There’s a meme aimed at Millennial catharsis called “Old Economy Steve.”
It’s a series of pictures of a late-70s teenager, who presumably is now a middle-aged man, that mocks some of the messages Millennials say they hear from older generations — and shows why they’re deeply janky. Old Economy Steve graduates and gets a job right away. Old Economy Steve “worked his way through college” because tuition was $400. And so forth.
We can now add another one to that list: Old Economy Steve ate at McDonald’s almost every day, and he still somehow had a 32-inch waist.
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 between 1971 and 2008 and the physical activity data of 14,419 people between 1988 and 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.
Jennifer Kuk, a professor of kinesiology and health science at Toronto’s York University, said in a statement:
“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. 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 ‘70s 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 the proliferation of artificial sweeteners could also be playing a role.
The fact that the body weights of Americans today are influenced by factors beyond their control is a sign, Kuk says, that society should be kinder to people of all body types. She said:
“There’s a huge weight bias against
people with obesity. 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.
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What can you do to eliminate or reduce obesity?
- Eat organic.
- Do not use artificial sweeteners.
- Eat more vegetables, and less processed food.
Those three actions are increasingly important for one’s health. Also …
Eating at home, and cooking whole foods – versus processed foods – will help keep down salt intake, which we believe is a contributor to unhealthy eating.
Finally …More people are eating out now than in the 70s and 80s, because it’s more convenient. Most people are really busy. And cooking at home takes planning … and time … though it’s also less expensive. But … restaurants typically use more salt, as flavor enhancers … which contributes to obesity.
