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
Specifically related to the “I weighed x amount on my wedding day” comments, there’s been a generational shift from our grandparents’ generation in the age that folks got married. So we’re often comparing the weight of someone who’s 18ish with teenage proportions versus someone who’s developed their adult figure.
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.
Was she 5ft or below?
Yes, since the USA nutrition advice changes in the 70s and later, people have gained significant weight.
A whole lot more sugar in the diet vs. before. Also a lot more hyper-processed calorie-dense foods, yet not-filling vs. before.
People used to smoke from a young age which decreases appetite and food was not the calorie laden fat and sugar bomb snacks of today. Fun fact, when I was 13 I tried on my grandmother’s wedding dress for fun. I couldn’t get it over my hips. And I wasn’t a fat kid, just a normal sized 95 lb American teenager. It ended up fitting my 9 year old cousin. My grandmother was super thin her entire life, even after birthing 5 kids. She also died in her mid-60s which also goes to show you that BMI is not intrinsically tied to health.
I mean yeah, someone who weighed 93 pounds was either very short or extremely underweight, or a teenager where being that underweight isn’t as extreme.
People were quite a bit thinner 50 years ago (BMI has increased 17% since 1972). Then the average American was slightly overweight. Today, the average American is obese.
Look up pictures of circus fat men back in the early 1900’s. They look like your average shopper in a southern Walmart.
Their freaks, look normal today.
> like how can a person have been 93 pounds in 1960 but have an identical looking body to someone who is 130 pounds today?
The don’t have an identical looking body. If they do there is a height difference.
The past wasn’t dangerously underweight , the present is just dangerously overweight.
Everywhere that isn’t the Western world in the past 30 years was significantly skinnier than today.
The phenomenon you are describing in your edit makes no sense and I’ve never heard of it being reported.
I only have my own anecdotal evidence to refer to, but I can say that in my neighborhood growing up in the 70s, there was only one “fat” guy. Everyone knew who he was. In comparison to many people today, he probably wouldn’t even stand out.
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