Were people a hundred years ago really that much smaller and slimmer than us?

Question

Victorian gowns in museums look very small, many don't seem much bigger than a 4. However, photographs of the time show many women who were bigger than that size. Lillie Langtry,who was one of the most beautiful women of the age had a 38" bust and 38" hips.

Answer 1

Diet has a lot to do with size. The Japanese men are much taller then two generations ago. My Grandfather, who came for Belarus, was 5'6", his wife was smaller, my father was 6 feet and I am 6'2". Size has to do with food availability and genetic potential. So, I would agree about height, but weight is lack of proper food stuffs. To much starch will make bigger people.

Answer 2

yes and no. yes, people were a lot smaller due to the fact that vitamins and other health enhancing items were either absent from the shelf for individual intake or absent from the food that was eaten. developed countries in 1908, or there abouts, ate well but only among the wealthy. the regular folk ate what was available to them at the cost they were prepared to pay. because girth of body equaled wealth, the 'fatter' the person, the more affluent you were perceived. lillie langtry was a prime example. no, as size, the average person lived, then, to 65/70. he or she grew to about 5'5". as the diet improved and as the vitamins began to be abundant (not to mention health and dental care), people especially in the usa picked up in height and also in weight. today, one hundred years later, we achieved way beyond our wildest dreams, and that may someday be our downfall, too. what's the saying--"be careful what you wish for..." ?

Answer 3

I would say the average height was maybe a couple of inches shorter than now and the average weight was likely about 20 pounds less than today.

Those who stood out from the norm tended to be noticed more, so having a large bosom and hips would make a female noticeable. The hourglass figure was revered back then.

Answer 4

The average woman in the Victorian era was 5' tall and weighed between 85 to 100 lbs. This was primarily due to malnutrition, which was widespread in those days, and the affects of childhood illnesses which tended to make them frail. Men in that era only averaged 5'8".

Answer 5

people's hights have grown some as time has progressed but there have always been outliers to that . there are always people who are extremely tall of short for the times. :)

Answer 6

I don't think so, I have seen pictures of my great-grandmother and she is overweight like me and she told me she had a weight problem all her life (she died when I was 19)

Answer 7

not if you read the bible, goliath was exstremly tall. but according to the armor and swords people were smaller