SARASOTA COUNTY (WSNN) – Amidst everyone else impacted by the pandemic, now we learn it was easier to shed pounds 40 years ago than it is today, even while eating and exercising the same amount.
Apparently, it’s easier to get skinny in the 1980s. An obesity study reveals it’s not just about exercising and eating right.
“I saw a lot of skinnier people in the 80s,” Sarasota resident, Jessica Williams said.
“I was lighter. I was maybe 165, now I’m maybe 178,” Seasonal resident, Chuck Blevins said.
York University professor, Jennifer Kuk supervised the research. Her graduate students examined dietary and physical activity data collected from a survey of more than 15,000 U.S. adults between the mid-1970s to the early 21st century.
“We found that if even if we adjust our caloric intake, which we know affects your body weight, you’re still about 20 pounds heavier in 2008 as compared to 1975,” Kuk said.
Kuk says some contributing factors include genetics, age, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity.
“You can’t afford the foods that you might need,” Kuk said. “You have greater stress. All of those things contribute to weight gain.”
I conducted my own unscientific study on why it’s harder today than it was back then. And this is what people on the Suncoast had to say …
“People go to a fast-food place and eat very cheaply, but eat very unhealthy foods,” Manatee County resident, Jean Noble said.
“Now, there are so many more packaged foods on a shelf,” Parkinson Place CEO, Alix Redmonde said. “If it comes on a shelf and you can’t read those ingredients, it’s really not food.”
“It’s not whole bread, they’re genetically modified to be converted to sugar almost overnight,” Blevins said. “So I’ve had to totally change my diet.”
It’s a whole different ball game today.
“You pretty much have to eat less and move more now than you did before,” Kuk said.
“It’s a lot tougher, I’d be 200 if ate as I did back then. I have to do a lot of aerobics and stuff to maintain my weight now,” Blevins said.
Technology may also play a role.
“People are sitting there with their iPads and their phones and they’re not moving,” Redmonde said.
Doctors say it’s important to balance hydration, diet, sleep, stress, and exercise. And each person’s body type is different. Weight loss tips are not one-size-fits-all.
Professor Kuk says the rise of obesity may also be to do with processed foods, toxins in the air, and other environmental factors.
