Modern technology has also probably made us two-thirds less active than we were. The 1950s diet was still horrendous health-wise, with twice many eggs, tons of sugar, cooking fat, butter and oil and less nutritious meat like chicken than we use today. The stay at home housewife not only took in many less calories but burned actually burned them the hard way, through her domesticated lifestyle: three hours a day doing the housework, an hour walking to and from the shops downtown an hour on the shopping itself, another hour making dinner, play with the kids etc. Not a routine I would trade for the world but it does go to show the importance of exercise in the battle to maintain a healthy balance
Let me throw in another element and that is the actual act of eating. Except for going out to eat and holiday feasting, daily easting has pretty much devolved into something you do while doing something else considered more important, like driving, TV,video games, etc. The once normal gathering around the table for dinner with Mom, Dad, and the kids has become the exception, I think, rather than the rule. Much to society’s dissadvantage.