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It is interesting. I remember thinking the same thing looking at old photos - everyone was slimmer. I grew up in the 70s. 40 years later we’ve got laws again

It is interesting. I remember thinking the same thing looking at old photos - everyone was slimmer. I grew up in the 70s. 40 years later we’ve got laws against large sodas, sugar, vending machines. And maybe it is just the easier availability of all those calories - but I remember getting giant cokes at Carls Jr. in the early 70’s, the school cafeteria food was lots of carbs and fat and you could eat ice cream every day if you wanted to. We all know that “Studies say exercise programs don't work because people don't stick to them.” But I think it misses the subtle difference between exercise as a planned activity and exercise thats built into your daily life. When I was young, we played in the streets every day. I walked or rode my bike to school. For my kids, that almost never happened. Everyone is inside. We drove everywhere. But we also know no-one can stick to a diet. So “eat less” isn't the answer either. So, whats the answer? Personally, I think its both. So, the answer is to build a little more exercise into your life. Walk to work or bike or learn to dance. Try to eat less - Maybe only eat 2/3rds or 1/2 of each meal. And avoid carbs since it stimulate hunger later. But, it would be great to have an actual fact-based answer as to what has happened.

cladari 7y ago
I don't think it's possible to exercise your way to weight loss. A handful of Oreo's will negate an hour workout. Simply cutting out as much added sugar as possible will drop weight quickly on just about anyone. Cutting out sugar isn't really a diet but more of a habit change. I'm not saying don't exercise, I'm saying both are necessary for results.
teslabox 7y ago
> But, it would be great to have an actual fact-based answer as to what has happened. This would be inconvenient to the business models of Big Medicine and Big Food. Good places to start an investigation are the official advocacy for replacing saturated fats with deodorized vegetable oils [1], the holy war against sweet forms of sugar (mix of fructose/glucose) instead of waging war on starch (chains of non-sweet insulin-stimulating glucose), the advocacy for chemical non-caloric sweetners (sucralose, etc), the contamination of the food supply with imitation foods (orange drink vs. orange juice, etc), and considering whether fortified grains is really the nutritional panacea it is supposed to be. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10536349 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10536349 edit: added "non-caloric" and "sucralose"

cladari 7y ago

I don't think it's possible to exercise your way to weight loss. A handful of Oreo's will negate an hour workout. Simply cutting out as much added sugar as possible will drop weight quickly on just about anyone. Cutting out sugar isn't really a diet but more of a habit change. I'm not saying don't exercise, I'm saying both are necessary for results.

teslabox 7y ago

> But, it would be great to have an actual fact-based answer as to what has happened. This would be inconvenient to the business models of Big Medicine and Big Food. Good places to start an investigation are the official advocacy for replacing saturated fats with deodorized vegetable oils [1], the holy war against sweet forms of sugar (mix of fructose/glucose) instead of waging war on starch (chains of non-sweet insulin-stimulating glucose), the advocacy for chemical non-caloric sweetners (sucralose, etc), the contamination of the food supply with imitation foods (orange drink vs. orange juice, etc), and considering whether fortified grains is really the nutritional panacea it is supposed to be. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10536349 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10536349 edit: added "non-caloric" and "sucralose"