To wonder why we were a thinner nation before we all knew so much about food.

[Bumblebumble123]

Isn't it funny that in years gone by, people didn't have the knowledge about food they have now. Peoples diets weren't dictated by calories or grams of fat or carbs, they were dictated by hunger. Yet now we have an obesity epidemic.

Is educating people on food counter productive? Would we all be better to scrap the info and start listening to our bodies?

I don't know the answer. I just find it odd that we know more than ever about food yet the nations waistline is getting bigger.

Theresasmayshoes11, my mum used to send me and my cousin to the launderette with enough money to use the 'big machine'.

We used to stuff it all in the small one and spend the extra money on sweets Sorry mum

Blue the amount of icing on a cupcake is fantastic

The snacking culture has only relatively recently come into being. 'Don't eat between meals' and 'you'll spoil your dinner' are ideas that have gone out of fashion.

People drink more calories nowadays - there were no cream laden latte mocha choca coffees with shots of syrup 50 years ago! Nor fridges stacked with cans of coke and fruit juice.

We used to stuff it all in the small one and spend the extra money on sweets blush Sorry mum

Omg worra that takes me right back! us too. The sweets were great weren’t they? Mojos, fruit salad the big 2p ones. I Have a gob full of fillings but it was worth it

Not to me, Theresa. They make me feel sick just looking at them.

We used to be more active, 60/70 years ago we had rationing and we used to cook more. Now we are more sedentary and we have processed foods and don't know how to cook.

There are more restaurants, people eat out more.
People eat processed/convenience food.
There is chocolate, sugary drinks, sugary cereals everywhere, it's so easy to eat rubbish.
People don't walk. Many people have cars. Buildings have lifts. Even public transport is generally good and labour saving.
We don't need calories to keep warm, we have heating, duvets, warmth.

Just because people know about healthy food it doesn't mean they eat it.

Agree with other posters about availability and quantity of food now
I’m 60. We didn’t have cars so much in my teens/20s so walked/ biked a lot more. When I was a kid families, if they had a car at all, had just one. This meant a walk to the bus stop to go into town. My Mum would push my sister uphill in a big old pram with my brother sitting on top and me hanging off like a drag anchor most days to and from school 4 times ( I came home for lunch, many did then)

screaming that’s not true really

A finger of fudge is just enough to give your kids s treat 1970s. There were snacks and we had unlimited access to crisps break time at my school. There were no lunch box police and kids ate Jaffa cakes and buns for lunch.

Again people did drink alcohol and most people had the ‘alpine pops man’ we guzzled gallons of fizzy drinks.

Teeth were rotten but we were skim as we played out and walked everywhere

Hate to say it but look at the correlation between smoking (an appetite suppressant) and obesity too. In 1970 50% of adults smoked now its 16%.

You right about the main stream of alcohol though I don’t remember my mom drinking wine but everyone smoked so maybe that kept the adults thin

X post Zanda everyone smoked in my childhood snd I think it kept us all thin.

Galloping down 4 flights of stairs to answer the phone!
Standing up and walking over to the tv to change the channel.
Having just 3 meals a day and no 'snacks'!!!!
Being one of 5 children meant no seconds at meals. You ate what you were given.

Being brought up in the 1960s/70s, I remember there was no snacking. Crisps were picnic or buffet food. We didn't have them at home. Fizzy drinks were a treat if we were out.
My mum cooked from scratch - no convenience foods. Chips were a treat and hand cooked.
We walked a mile to school and come the weekend we wandered the neighbouhood.
In secondary school I can only recall about 4 girls out of 100 being "chubby" - and they were no bigger than size 14.
Being called skinny or thin was an insult. Being slim was the ideal.

Blue maybe but we were often hungry as kids so to me icing and cake even at 50 is s treat.

I was born in the sixties. To be greedy was considered a moral failure. You ate one biscuit, one small piece of cheese, your Dad sliced up a mars bar for all the family to have a bit.

I read posts on here about people eating a whole tub of Haagen Daaz, and honestly, I'm slightly disgusted; it has just been so drummed into me that to behave like that is totally wrong.

I can clearly remember my friend telling me about a kid in our street, the only fat kid in our school, who was brought up by his Gran and allowed to eat a whole packet of biscuits himself. It was like I'd been told he mainlined heroin or something, it was shocking.

I'm not saying that I'm right to be so judgy; it's just the values were around when I was growing up. People had more self restraint.

Was just coming on here to mention smoking too.....

I think it's coincidence.

I don't, but I think it's the opposite way round than the OP has it: since we started getting fatter (in the 80s I guess?) we've been pelted with more and more nutritional information because it's become relevant. When people weren't generally fat it wasn't really interesting to know about calories and carbs and things.

The government told us that fat was the problem and lots of low fat high sugar food was made, which made us fatter.

Imported foods were not available, we had home cooking, no meals out. No money to waste so the Sunday roast was cold with bubble & squeak on Monday, sandwiches for lunch, minced into shepherds pie on Tuesday.
No ready meals or takeaways and food had less additives and hidden sugars, processed food was not common, if we had anything tinned it was rare, a tin of ham when visitors arrived, a Fray Bentos pie for a treat.
Burgers, fried chicken etc. were unheard of, fish and chips was all there was and that was very rare.
No snacks between meals, sandwiches were made at home for lunches and only eaten for lunch with maybe an apple.
Children didn't have endless crisps and sweets or muffins, only meals so never got the habit of over-eating.
I am watching Home for Tea on catchup, have lived through a good few decades and recognise a lot of it, and although money was tight in some of them, life was simple and much slower and less stressful, we sat at the table to eat, no TV and plates were always cleared, nothing else to eat, just meals at mealtime. I only put on weight in the last 5 years due to snacking when circumstances changed, crisps to hand mostly.
I don't think it is to do with knowledge about food, just having food and a lot of junk food and general crap easily available and like many other things just buying it because it is there.

Standing up and walking over to the tv to change the channel

And even then, there were only 3 to choose from.

I still remember excitedly watching the first programme on channel 4 with my mum. It was Countdown

There was considerably less cheap processed food.

There wasnt the same availability fast food.

Going out to eat was much less common.

Things like Coke were considered expensive and just for parties.

People walked more and had more physical jobs.

queen we had crisps to buy at school though 1970.as many as you wanted and could afford

Totally agree with your post though snd as a teen being skinny was being unnatrsctive we all wanted to be a size 12.

Seeing toddlers eating ice creams as big as their heads gives me the rage.