Did you notice a difference in weight? I’ve been sorting old pictures and am amazed at how thin people were - especially around the time of WWII. Probably before then too. Maybe it’s because of rationing? Sugar was rationed. Also, when people worked there was no way they could be sipping on a giant soda.
Everyone in my family worked in steel mills then. The men definitely were on the “barrel chested” side, but ultimately, you could only be so fat working 40 hours a week on your feet in an environment like that. I’ve never had a job that didn’t involve a chair.
My grandfather was an odd man though. He was the most health-conscious smoker/degenerate gambler in history. He never went above a pack a day (which in those days was the height of self control), he only ate three relatively light home-cooked meals a day, he did not drink, and he swam five days a week at a local indoor pool. At the same time, he would lose his entire paycheck in three day card games so life is full of tradeoffs.
I actually think the most unhealthy generation in history was the pre-baby boomers born in the mid to late 30s. Maybe it’s just my family and family circle, but no man in that age group made it to 70. They all had massive heart attacks or liver problems.
My explanation is that they all had their father’s bad habits - smoking, drinking, weekend gambling - with a lot more disposable income and less physically active jobs. A fair number of those guys had office jobs or if they worked in a mill or plant, it was a far more automated experience.
A lot of my dad’s friends (true baby boomers) smoked when they were younger, but I think the vast majority of them quit before they turned 40. (The 80s were the golden age of quitting smoking). My dad’s older cousins (born in the 30s) were the types who would smoke while inside oxygen tents and thought low-fat diets were for pansies.
The best explanation for obesity I’ve ever really heard is the continuation of “the southern diet” into the modern age.
When you spent 12 hours in a cotton field, you needed massive amounts of fried okra and potatoes and grits and pancakes and pig’s feet and all the cheap carb-heavy stuff coooked in pork fat that Southerners ate for generations.
When you’re working as an insurance agent, that diet will kill you inside ten years.
My family is Italian, but my grandmother had to cook on a strict budget. So, there would basically be one plate of spaghetti with a very basic sauce and maybe a meatball for everyone if my grandfather didn’t gamble away the rent money. That’s a filling meal.
To get to that next generation where everyone in my family died. If you went to their house for Sunday dinner, it was endless amounts of sausage and peppers and meatballs and cheeses and desserts. It’s relatively cheap food so if you suddenly have disposable income, you can have all of it you ever wanted. And that will kill you - especially if you are smoking while eating it and washing it down with Crown Royal.