[quote=bearishgurl][quote=ocrenter] . . . Something happened within the last 50 years that led to the dramatic weight issue. And especially over the last 20 years. The quality of the food got A LOT worse and the BAD food got A LOT cheaper. . . [/quote]
I’ll tell you what the has happened in the last 50 years.
First of all, when I hear on this blog of an $8 tomato at “Whole Foods,” THAT is part of the problem (I don’t shop there).
Produce got a LOT more expensive.
Lean meat got a LOT more expensive.
Dairy products and eggs got a LOT more expensive.
Junk food got a LOT cheaper at fast food outlets (i.e. 99 cent offerings).
Today’s workers do not purchase enough groceries or are too lazy or unorganized to prepare a nutritious lunch for their workday, or both.
Many people spend a LOT of time sitting and “texting.”
Many people (myself included) spend a LOT of time on the internet.
You can sit in a car on the internet now (up to 3 hrs. before needing charging) whereas in the past (before “computing era”), you might have gotten out and walked around while waiting.
Households are now smaller so it doesn’t make sense to buy exorbitant amounts of fresh food that will spoil.
Kids DO NOT habitually play outside anymore. They are too busy texting, playing video games and watching u-tube.
Most adults don’t stay with their workout/programs at a gym.
Kids don’t run and play outside with neighborhood kids until dark anymore, ie. tag, hide & seek, kick the can, bicycling, etc.
Kids don’t build forts anymore.
Kids don’t want to physically go to each other to talk or play because they can virtually send each other photos as to what they’re doing that day. So they don’t visit and engage in activities together as much anymore.
Adults have such smart vehicles that are so comfortable that they don’t need to get out of them (100% have A/C, etc).
Workers can now sit at their computers and transmit messages and files that I had to walk a minimum of a 1-1/2 blocks and up/down one or more elevators and even across the street to hand-deliver in a large rolling basket with heavy metal dividers, going to each department separately and handing to the bailiff in 3+ lb “packages.”
PE in schools is no longer mandatory every year.
Individual sports “prone to injury” (i.e. gymnastics, tumbling, wrestling, etc,) and, as a byproduct, cheerleading, have now been “dumbed down” to much lesser skill levels to compete, due to potential lawsuits.
Instrumental music has all but been done away with in most schools, due to instructor budget cuts and high cost of renting/owning instruments. This leaves more time for texting and watching u-tube.
Low income adults (esp in “food desert” parts of the US) are choosing to purchase cheaper highly-refined prepared food over fresh food they have to prepare at home.
The multitude of cable/satellite channels (in high-def no less) is keeping many glued to the TV (and couch).
The minimum wage is so low in most parts of the country that fast food outlets can afford to make the high-fat/calorie 99 cent offerings. 30-40 years ago, today’s .99 FF offering was about .79 (basic hamburger was .39 to .49) and the minimum wage was +-$2.00 hr.[/quote]
BINGO, BG!!!!
Back when Mr. CAR and I were growing up (we were the last generation of kids before the “obesity epidemic” came to pass), our TVs had dial knobs, where you had to get up off the couch and turn the dial whenever you wanted to change the channel…and we only had a handful of channels, so there was a higher likelihood we wouldn’t find anything “fun” to watch. Oh no! That meant we had to go outside and play with our friends, sans parents, of course. So, we played all day long, until the street lights turned on.
I look at the difference between the way we grew up, and how kids (including our own) grow up today. the differences are striking. We ate at least as much junk food back then — bologna sandwiches with pasteurized, processed cheese food substitute (American cheese) and gobs of mayo on white Wonder bread, anyone? But we were active!
Our kids today have too much homework, and too much TV, computer, and video game time. They do NOT **play** nearly enough to stay healthy, IMHO.
If you look at when the “obesity epidemic” began, it correlates with the widespread introduction of cable TV and video games into middle-class homes.
One more thing…when we wanted to go somewhere, we walked or rode our bikes. Kids today get chauffeured everywhere, even around the corner.
We’re raising a generation of overweight wussies who are completely unable to entertain themselves without electronic devices or without having someone dictate their every move via “helicopter parenting.”
