[alexander_busek]

As the art and fashion historian Anne Hollander wrote in a New York Times article from 1977, "The look of actual human bodies obviously changes very little through history. But the look of ideal bodies changes a great deal all the time."

I challenge Ms. Hollander to view a photograph of any typical street scene in the America of 1977, and compare it with one of 2020 - with regards to the body type / "heaviness" of the pedestrians. The contrast is stunning.

Here in Germany, I can spot fellow Americans a quarter of a mile away on the street - because of their high Body-Mass Index.

Regards,

[Jeff Chandler]

Look at the kids. High schoolers in the 70s were string beans compared to kids today.

[Sirius Lee]

Here in Germany, I can spot fellow Americans a quarter of a mile away on the street - because of their high Body-Mass Index.

Wow! And that's on top of the German tradition of possessing robust mid-sections. But, yeah I see a lot of fatsos around down in the valley towns. Teens and children even. Has nothing to do with black or white. People just pound junk food and sit around on their asses all day. I never see them out on the trails or swimming in the many lakes around here. Just the 40 and up crowd - well, not crowds. More of an East Coast thing. I don't see as many fatties in CA or CO. Quite the opposite.

[polymuser]

I worked with European visitors here. They were uniformly amazed by how much Americans eat, how little we walk and how we tolerated our obesity.

Several said they would be eating less and riding their bicycle more upon return home, to lose their “American fat”.

Why are black Americans so noticeably more obese than non-blacks? I think most people know, but it’s another “truth that shall not be spoken” about American blacks.

Will the writer investigate European black obesity?