this post was submitted on 06 May 2026
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"pEOple WeRe jUsT mORe ActiVe iN thE PasT"
I call bullshit. Like sure, in the early 1900's and before, people were more active. But in the 60's, 70's, and 80's? We had cars. People still used them a lot instead of walking. People still chose to sit and watch TV, or read, or listen to music. People still worked in offices and spent the majority of their day sitting. The average number of steps between a person back then and today is really not that different. Maybe a bit higher, but no where even fucking close to explaining the obesity epidemic.
Claims that the extreme increase in obesity is simply due to increased sedentary lifestyle just fucking reeks of lobbied attempts to shift the blame from the real problem.
It's the food, stupid. High-volume processed bullshit with low-cost additives and filler ingredients SWARMED the shelves and replaced nearly every good product with unhealthy convenience with a longer shelf-life. Our portion sizes didn't even change that much, it's just the quality of what we're eating has dropped tremendously.
You can't even fully escape it by trying to only buy fresh food. Modern fruits and vegetables have been bred to be full of sugars and starches. Raw chicken is pumped full of salt and preservatives, sometimes making up more than 30% of its weight.
They are poisoning people and then blaming them for the consequences.
100%.
The French are still relatively skinny for exactly that reason; the food is in general much less processed and the rules are very strict. As a North American who lives there, I've lost weight just by being here.
I am going to take this opportunity to shit on car culture. Walking several miles a week because I live in a walkable city is pleasant, and almost certainly good for my health and weight.
I don't have objections to the rest of your post. I just hate car culture.
Oh totally agree with car culture. Walkable cities are fantastic. But again, it's not like cities were more walkable in the 60's, 70's, and 80's. Hell, if anything, cities have become MORE walkable in recent decades than they were back then.