'50S WOMEN WERE FITTER

NY Post ^ | August 11, 2003 | Bill Hoffmann

[presidio9]

Women have come a long way in 50 years - but not when it comes to being leaner and fitter. A new report claims women were in much better shape 50 years ago than their descendants today, despite the modern obsession with dieting and working out.

[geege]

I luuuuvvvv to cook.....I cook/grill everyday for me and honey......the problem.....we luuuuvvvv to eat!!!!!! So between quitting smoking and watching food TV I have a few additional lbs on that are killing me.....Our eating out is only on special occasions.....

[the Deejay]

I was looking at some (original) '50's dresses (for sale) online yesterday and the largest waist size was 26"!

[the Deejay]

I was looking at some (original) '50's dresses (for sale) online yesterday and the largest waist size was 26"!

[Kryptonite]

The Good Wife's Guide

[the Deejay]

Same here. I was a teen in the '50's. Mother worked hard. (We all worked hard.) Walked to the store and it wasn't around the corner. It was at least 2 miles. She never complained! Teens walked everywhere, too!! We didn't get a car at age 16 and a license. I didn't get a license until I was 21!

It was very rare back then to see an obese or overweight person. Or an ugly person! LOL!

[bc2]

" looking at old family pictures, there are plenty of plump looking people (they were farmers or coal miners)."

is your family Welsh? Mine is, and all the women were full-figured farmers and the men were slender farmers and coal miners. After my family moved to the US in 1898 they took pictures of themselves and their farm. I wouldn't say "plump" but certainly full-figured. Just wondering...

[the Deejay]

Families were happier back in the '50's. I didn't know one family that wasn't "happy." (And I knew a lot of people.)

[eleni121]

Not surprising and very sad. My mother aunts grandmothers were all gorgeous, slender, appearance conscious women who were strong and in some cases self sustaining.

I look at some of their female progeny (and some males) - what a bunch of overweight slobs, always dieting always complaining for the most part.

Is this what is called the devolution of the species?

[jpl]

I believe fast food and soda pop are two of the main reasons Americans are getting fatter.

Processed white bread is another big culprit, along with the plethora of "snack foods" out there.

[Richard Kimball]

When I was a kid, we were so poor we didn't have arms or legs. Dad used to have to strap us to the sheep to get to school.

[BMiles2112]

Thanks for posting! I've been trying to dig up my copy. A must read!

[Eva]

And everything that they ate seemed to have some kind of sauce on it, creamed peas, creamed potatoes, creamed corn, creamed succotash, cauliflower, broccoli or brussel sprouts in cheese sauce. It's no wonder I hate creamed sauce on anything. Yuck!

[mewzilla]

Well, to the ironing add all the other housekeeping chores that were done by hand instead of a machine, and for bigger families. Plus women drove less, walked more. Figure in better diets and smaller portion sizes and you have a recipe for fitness.

[Quilla]

I am a couple of years older than you. Although my father was a Louisiana gentleman, he married a New Yorker who didn't like children. She had four of us. She didn't do diddly. Our home was always spotless because she had considerable help and half the house was off limits to the children. My sisters and I were raised by governesses and we occasionally saw our mother as she was leaving for cocktails or a dinner party. (I recall her perfume did linger for nearly an hour after her passing.)

Her busy day included shopping trips and sherry parties which apparently exhausted her to no end. When we arrived home from school, she would be posed on the sofa with the back of her hand resting on her forehead. That was the signal that children were seen and not heard.

She was fit, but it certainly wasn't because of exercise. I believe she's been on a diet since 1960. She is now 84. After my father's death 5 years ago she moved into a suite we had build onto our home per her specifications. We (hubby, two children, and I) wait on her hand and foot and will continue to do so. Ahh, the joys of monarchy.

[EagleMamaMT]

I remember that we ate a good bit of white store-bought bread back then (sandwiches for lunch, sometimes store-bought white bread for supper). Okies call white store-bought bread "light bread". But we didn't get any snack foods. No cookies, no chips, no doughnuts, etc. Mama did usually make a pie or cake for dessert most nights, though.

[the Deejay]

Lawn mowers were "push mowers", power mowers didn't come around until the mid to late '60's. (I cerainly did my share with the push mowers.)

"Figure in better diets and smaller portion sizes and you have a recipe for fitness."

People didn't have an "abundance" of food.

[SamAdams76]

Another factor was that in those days, people (especially kids) ate was was put in front of them at the house. If Mom was going to cook all day, you better eat what she puts in front of you! Nowadays, everybody is doing their own thing. Microwave this and microwave that. I came home late from work one night and one of my sons was microwaving a burrito because he did't like what my wife had made for him. I thought that was unacceptable.

Also, the restaurants now have these "children's menus" which are full of the most awful junk. Grilled cheese sandwiches, batter-coated chicken fingers, nachos, etc., all of which comes with fries and ice cream. At restaurants, I have my kids order off the regular menu. More expensive but at least they get better food.

[P.O.E.]

And in the 40's, some women were rivetter.

[Tauzero]

I'll say! Monroe in Some Like It Hot: Jello on springs! Yum.

[the Deejay]

Back then, kids weren't eating all the time, like they do these days. Fast food places weren't around! Nor any fast foods of any kind. You ate what mother cooked. The entire family was present for every meal!