To not understand why the 70s were so much healthier considering the crap we ate?

[Destinysdaughter]

I'm currently reading the thread about what was considered normal in the past, cooking with dripping, jam sandwiches etc and am curious as to why obesity was so rare in comparison to now where it's virtually an epidemic?

Some of us in the 1970s were being subjected to a total immersion lentil weaving lifestyle and dreamed of being allowed pop, vesta curry, Angel delight, chocolates etc

Some of us in the 1970s were being subjected to a total immersion lentil weaving lifestyle and dreamed of being allowed pop, vesta curry, Angel delight, chocolates etc

I feel your pain, but I think you were in a tiny minority. The Good Life was certainly written from the standpoint that Tom and Barbara were leading a very unusual lifestyle.

I would say it was in the 70s things began to change more and more.
In the 1960s meat and two veg twice a day was normal, with eggs/bacon/sausage for breakfast. Not many snacks but some bags of sweets as treats and some smaller bars of chocolate wee normal.

how do you know?

Science?

that's not a helpful answer.

However Gaspode has provided a useful link.

It's not an essay, I don't have to reference unless I particularly feel like it! Look for yourself if you don't believe it or want to check it.

I think I had my first Pot Noodle in 1978. It was curry flavour.
It felt like the most exotic thing ever. I became instantly hooked and soon I was also on the Chicken & Mushroom (though curry remained by constant fave).
I still love them.

I was born in the 70s and had a different food experience to most posters.

We had snacks galore, no restrictions on how many sweets or biscuits or whatever. Fiizzy drinks, squash and juice too. Packed lunches were usually a sandwich with crisps and chocolate bar and carton of juice. Possibly a piece of fruit but not necessarily. Plates and portion sizes may have been smaller but no problem going for seconds (which I remember doing). And both my parents had a car so didn't need to walk everywhere (in fact, far more parking than today!)

Main difference is the playing out and lack of screen time. Kids' telly was so limited and there was only one boy kn the neighborhood with an Atari 😀 - it was boring to stay in and all the kids on the street hung out together when the weather was nice.

That said, there was also far less food around the whole time. The one McD was a few miles away so going there was a really big treat. And places closed early too. So I think three was much less temptation all around the whole time.

Drinking was rare. Only Christmas and parties.

Mum didn't work, so all meals were cooked from scratch and a lot of meal planning went on as they did a monthly shop for the majority and didn't do top up shops as easily as I do now. She had no car so we walked everywhere.
Meals were pasta, potatoes, pie and meat. Someone upthread mentioned stuffed heart - bloody lovely, I still remember it fondly. But disliked the tripe!
We had sugar in our tea and sugar on our cereal. I was a teen when I started to cut that out.
If we had a treat it was 10p of sweets or a finger of fudge. We didn't have the huge variety in the shops and rarely got to choose for ourselves anyway.

All meals eaten at the family table together.

We had pudding. Sometimes something nice baked. Usually home made yogurt (Mum had a machine) flavoured with nesquick powder and bulked out with desiccated coconut. I remember liking it but can't think why now!

I remember Mum sitting with the same meal, but a smaller portion and a side plate of a huge home made coleslaw and walnuts when on the f-plan diet.

I often look at the supermarket shelves and wonder why there's so much choice for people these days.

Potatoes,no rice or pasta in the 60s.Sweets on a Saturday,6d which you got for doing your chores.Only knew one family with a car but they became more common mid 70s.Not much TV but we all watched Eric and Ernie,the good life,poldark and ask the family in the 70s.Out of doors playing all day,walked to school,minimal heating .We did much more sport and pe than kids do now at school.Treats were when our gran gave us a stick of rhubarb with small amount of sugar to dip it in,also kept us quiet for ages.We didn't have lots of clothes either,just school uniform and 'enough' to be decent.We also didn't stress as much at school,certainly not until O levels.Simpler times,not so much choice.Great times to be a child not sure if the adults had such an easy time.

Like i said upthread young kids get more homework now so have to spend more time sitting down doing it.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/2835449-To-not-agree-with-this-amount-of-homework-or-awards-for-it