Anyone remember when seeing a fat person was a rare occurance?

Question

We had one fat girl at in my entire school. She would be considered thin by today's standards.

People want to blame weight on genetics but it used to be that no one (except that one odd girl and some Grandmas) was fat. If you saw one fat person in the mall you stared because it was so unusual to see a fat person.

What has happened?

I was born in 1963

Why is there no in between fat and emaciated in people's minds?

Research was released about 4 years ago that found that it is healthiest to be 5% less than your optimum weight. Nicole is probably really heathly in actuality.

Also, when calculating your life expectancy you take off 5 years for smoking a pack a day and 7 years if you are overweight.

Answer 1

I was born in 1963 too and yes you are right. People's weight has gone up like uuuuuppppppp ! :-)
And Fat has become PHAAAT ! Kabooom !
Whats the world coming to ! :-(

Answer 2

I am a lot younger then you, and even I know exactly what your talking about. There were only a few overweight children in my elementary and junior high. I didn't start seeing an increase of weight issues until high school. Coming from a family with multiple obese members, I can tell you with out a doubt, obesity is not genetic - it's a learned family trait. Children follow the example their parent's set, especially with diet. I choose to do something about my weight in college before it got out of hand. Was it easy? No way! Was it about re-learning how to eat, and understand the concept that we are supposed to "eat to live and not live to eat"? Absolutely! We are a lazy generation that is more focused on instant gratification, then our long term health and happiness. It's a battle everyday to not fall victim of convenience eating, not just for me, but for my children as well. We get so busy that we put off the natural feelings of hunger until we are so starving that we have no other choice but to stop and gorge. I don't know if that's the answer you were looking for, but as a generation-x'er, I can tell you this true for many I know. My Great-Grandparents never had the issue of overeating, nor did they have the many choices we have today. They stopped, and sat down for every meal. Nowadays, we eat standing up and shovel in what we can as fast as we can so we can move to the next pressing situation. Very sad...

Answer 3

What's happened? Corn syrup is now in everything. It is the leading cause of obesity, followed by fast food, then a sedentary lifestyle.....

I was born in '59. We had 1 or 2 fat kids in my class of about 100. My daughter's class of about the same size has about 5 really fat kids, and another 10 who are pretty chubby.

I'm talking 14 year olds.

Genetics do play a role, but only in that they may make you more suseptible to the very hazards I mentioned above.

Answer 4

Yes, there are so many fat people today, even young kids start to get fat even before they are 5 years old, its a shame. Junk foods have a lot to do with it and of course lack of exercises.. When someone gets that fat, they have no energy and fail to do any exercise. The best exercise to start with is to push your chair away from the meal table.

Answer 5

That was back when people would say "it does not cost anything to be nice." Men have got better at making money with food. Here is how it works. No one teaches the animal what to eat and what not to eat. He knows instinctively what to eat. Humans also have the same instinct. The way it works is just eat whatever tastes good and that will be healthy for you and non-fattening. That is why a baby tastes everything. So again whatever tastes good, is good for you. This is why you will spit out spoiled milk.

But wait!!! Man has the technology to create rat poison. It tastes like healthy food (good taste) but kills the rat. So man has done that to you. Note- any food unaltered by man (uncooked) that tastes good, is good for you. So if you are stranded in the woods, that is how you know what to eat (cooking changes that). So man has created fake fruit. It tastes like fruit that exists in nature but it is terrrible for health, addictive and fattening called sweets.

So it is natural to like real sweets called fruit, like a baby does, but they have fooled you just like the rat. But they do not want to kill you. They want you to become obese so you will buy lots of their foods. This is called GOOD BUSINESS. Remember the above (not on site) and see site below to re-learn how to eat so you can be thin and fit for life.

http://phifoundation.org

Answer 6

I agree with many of the answers, but one thing that stands out to me is that we are ALL in a hurry. Everyone these days have a job to get to, therefore we are feeding our kids the fastest thing to get them off to school. Then, as for ourselves, while at work, we're shoving anything we can find time to eat during break at work in our mouths so we can have the energy to get back on the job, it's a shame, but all too true:(

Answer 7

ALL THE FOOD NOW IS FULL OF ARTIFICIAL INGREDIENTS AND ADDITIVES AND PRESERVATIVES. WHEN THEY PUT THEM TOGETHER IN CERTAIN FORM THEY CAUSE YOU TO GET FAT AND BE ADDICTING. FAT PEOPLE EAT MORE FOOD AND THAT'S WHY THE FOOD COMPANYS DO THAT.
FAST FOOD, TV DINNERS, READY TO EAT FOODS, SUGAR, SODA POP. LOOK BACK IN YOUR DAY ALL THE FOOD WAS HOME COOKIN. WHOLE FOODS. AND WE DID'T WATCH TV ALL THE TIME. WE WERE OUTSIDE PLAYING. IF YOU WANT MORE INFO OR HEALTH Q'S E- MAIL [e-mail]

Answer 8

Nintendo,gameboyand xbox.Also McDs,Burger King etc.When I was a kid we played baseball,hockey,football,every day after school.you could not have paid me to hang out at a mall.We all so ate in a restaurant about once a month.

Answer 9

People's eating habits have changed. When I was a kid, a soda was a treat, now its a normal beverage.

Answer 10

Fast food and a more busy lifestyle.