I’ve heard older family members say “I weighed 93 pounds on my wedding day”, and then you see a picture of them and they were slim but healthy looking (meanwhile, if you plug in their BMI, it shows that the number is so dangerously underweight).
Are those family members exaggerating, or has there been a significant change to body composition/muscle mass in people over the past 50+ years (based on diet, lifestyle)?
Semi related: could this be the origin of some men thinking that all “thin” women weigh 120 pounds (regardless of height)?
Edit: NOT talking about obesity, more like how can a person have been 93 pounds in 1960 but have an identical looking body to someone who is 130 pounds today?
In: Biology
I recall an article a couple years ago that mentioned women are not as slim as they were generations ago, but part of that is due to the rise of youth sports. Many girls are more active now and are building more muscle and bone mass. If I can track it down I will link it.
This explanation does not apply to all the changes in population size trends, but it explains some of the variations for one particular demographic.
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