Americans have been gaining weight for as long as records exist

Re:Americans have been gaining weight for as long as records... by paulpauper on Thursday February 02, 2023 @06:54PM (#34635092)

I agree. I think a good chunk of the obesity epidemic can be explained by obesity being underdiagnosed in the past. Doctors simply were not tracking it and BMI standards did not exist like today. Second candidate, increased food palatability and calories density.

Even some of the Founding Fathers appeared obese or overweight, and this long predates the invention of processed foods https://greyenlightenment.com/2022/12/26/why-people-are-gett...

It's evident obesity existed well before it became recognized as a major public health problem.

As Mr. Yglesias notes, rising obesity rates correlate with increased national wealth. Wealthier countries tend to have bigger, heavier people due to better nutrition, cheaper food, increased food production, etc. This is a welcome development, up to a point. We've crossed that point, obviously. It's time to find solutions. Having half the country obese is a travesty.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Americans have been gaining weight for as long as records... by thghtihadanacct on Thursday February 02, 2023 @08:24PM (#34635916)

So, we need to half half the country? :)

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Americans have been gaining weight for as long as records... by 34611 on Thursday February 02, 2023 @09:00PM (#34636218)

> Even some of the Founding Fathers appeared obese or overweight

That's a tiny privileged group of people living in an era where you flaunted your status and wealth by being chubby. You are talking about the 1% of the 1%. They are not representative of the population as a whole. The average height of an american revolutionary soldier was 5'3". A more representative sample of the population as a whole. And they certainly weren't obese. You can go to museums and see the guns they carried and the clothes (tiny) they wore.

I don't think there was an obesity issue before industrialization, especially industrial farming which led to abundance of food.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Americans have been gaining weight for as long as records... by paulpauper on Friday February 03, 2023 @06:23PM (#34649281)

he average height of an american revolutionary soldier was 5'3". A more representative sample of the population as a whole. And they certainly weren't obese. You can go to museums and see the guns they carried and the clothes (tiny) they wore.

of course they are not obese, they are soldiers

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Americans have been gaining weight for as long as records... by idontwantthis on Thursday February 02, 2023 @09:26PM (#34636401)

Look at pictures of any World’s Fattest Man/Woman from 100 years ago. They aren’t even an uncommon size today.

[ Parent | on HN ]