Just look at photos from the not-so-distant past. Most Americans a few decades ago were not obese; in fact most were downright thin by today’s standards, but people did not ride everywhere in cars in those days, nor did they guzzle sodas whenever they were thirsty.
The difference between our family photos and others is that the photographers always stood way way way back to get everybody in both vertically and horizontally.
The result was a tremendous savings in the cost of photos ~ which is why we have some of the big guys.
Never fear there were always large people around ~ even going back into the 13 and 1400s ~ the Iroquois warrior elite was typically 7 ft tall!
Not true. People have been dealing with unwanted pounds since Greek and Roman times at least. I have family pictures from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and they all resembled one another - short and definitely on the chunky side. All these people did hard physical labor every day, but they were still hefty. No sodas and not wealthy enough to own a car.
Genes have everything to do with it, and for those people who continue to be hateful about this, I only hope they some day experience what it is to struggle with their weight.
I once weighed nearly 300 lbs and am now in the high 180s (”normal” weight for a man my height) so I know both sides of the coin.
I do strengh training or cardio nearly every day and my friends remark at how little I eat. I determined my caloric needs to be no more than 1200-1500 calories depending on the foods. I never feel full and often times eat less than women do. Sometimes, I won't feel hungry all day if I'm stuck behind a desk.
If I eat any more than that, I gain fat instantly. My friends normally eat double that, don't work out regularly and have always been thinner. When I ate like my friends, I became 300 lbs.