The obesity epidemic is generally portrayed as a relatively recent phenomenon, but new research paints a different picture. John Komlos and Marek Brabec find (gated version here) that obesity rates actually began rising in the early 20th century, with significant upsurges after the two World Wars. The authors point out that “the ‘creeping’ nature of the epidemic, as well as its persistence, does suggest that its roots have been embedded deep in the social fabric and are nourished by a network of disparate sources…” Komlos and Brabec point to factors like the industrialization of food production, the spread of automobiles, the spread of the media, the IT revolution, and the growing culture of consumption in America to explain the trend.[%comments]
A Different Obesity Timeline
TAGS: obesity
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Makes sense. Also seems like all those factors have become much more significant recently. Further, “eating out” seems to be much more prevalent in the last 20 years or so, but I can’t see the paper, so who knows…
An important factor is the concurrent decline of smoking among adults in the U.S. since the 1970s – one vice directly replacing another
As a former smoker, I can point out that weight gain comes into play just as soon as you stop smoking. I have noticed the same from friends and family members who used to smoke.
I think modern conveniences (e.g., auto, and basically anything else that substitutes for you having to get your rear-end off of the couch and move around) have played even greater role. Back when I was attending an elementary school, it was normal for me and for my classmates to walk almost an hour to school, then another hour to come home. Grocery shopping? Walk. Need to go to a local government office or drop by a bank? Walk. In short, you get to burn a plenty of calories without even thinking about it! This is hardly the case today.
Changinig dining habit also plays a role. In the past, I used to eat meals with my family, which was a very good thing on hindsight: You get to take your time, eat and drink slowly whiile having conversations. By contrast, I get to pig out during weekends because my busy weekday schedule means I cannot take my time over meals. Not very healthy. Furthermore, if you have to prepare your own meals (not just cooking, but also running grocery shopping and washing your own dishes), you are less likely to overindulge yourself.
If I have to choose between a ‘non-obese’ weight combined with the lifestyle of the late 1800s versus an obese weight in with today’s lifestyle, I’ll take the fat jokes.
(P.S. I realize it’s not a zero-sum game… I’m just sayin’.)
Technology makes us fatter…
- Driving instead of walking
- Elevators instead of climbing
- Saving the SUPER-obese with medicine. Evolution should only favor slightly overweight people.
etc…
True! We’re not as active as we used to be. We eat more fatty foods and carbs.
Back in the day, our vegetables came from my grandmother’s garden behind the house. She canned things to tide us over the winter. Fruit was provided by farm stands where she’d buy the “day olds” by the bushel or crate and what we didn’t eat that day, she canned for the winter. And she had a cold cellar for the potatoes, onions and root veges.
Washing was hung out on the line – sheets were heavy – the washing machine wringer didn’t wring out much.
I walked to school one mile each way four times a day (I went home for lunch). After school, my friends and I played outside until dark, unless it was raining.
Now, people park as close to the store as they can, they won’t even walk 20 feet to their car if they don’t have to.
But my fingers are nimble from typing so much on my computer!
I remember a short news item here in the U.K. on how central heating affected British society in the long-term.
I wonder if climate-controlled buildings, reducing the bodys’ need to expend energy to maintain homeostasis, have had a discernable effect on the locations and growth of obesity.
Many of the other technological propositions seem to be surrogate variables for other causes of obesity.
Question is how to shift an entire culture to have better nutrition and be more physically active when it doesn’t “need” to.