did people actually weigh less 50 years ago (based off body composition)?

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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

26 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Aside from more processed foods and a shift to a sedentary lifestyle, smoking (appetite suppressor extraordinaire) was more common in public spaces. And if your grandma is speaking of her weight 50 years ago, people tend to put on weight as they age, especially after menopause.

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