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[entremet]

http://www.medicaldaily.com/average...ge-man-60s-so-imagine-how-heavy-todays-338428

Interesting way of framing a story.

Men weight 30 pounds more than their 60s counterparts as well, so everyone is gaining weight.

We're also taller on average. 3/4 of inch for women and one full inch for men, but those height increases don't factor for such a huge weight gain swing.

We're also not a nation of bodybuilders or pro athletes.

Stats are below.

Between the early 1960s and 2010, the average American woman’s weight increased from around 140 pounds to 166.2 pounds. The years haven’t been so kind to men either, since the average American man’s weight increased from 166.3 in the early 1960s to 195.5 in 2010. The percentage of people over the age of 20 dealing with obesity has reached 35.1 percent, while the percentage of people over the age of 20 who are overweight has swelled to a staggering 69 percent. To put all of that into perspective, one out of every three adults in this country is considered obese.

Related: Video

 

[T'Zariah]

They also have access to a lot more variety of foods than back then too. A lot of which are not good for you long term

 

[Frank the Great]

This should make my wife happy, she always complains about her weight but she is way below average, just like I have been telling her.

 

[entremet]

They also have access to a lot more variety of foods than back then too. A lot of which are not good for you long term

This is actually incorrect. Modern processed foods are way more numerous today. We also have more variety in fruits and vegetables. Good luck finding arugula in a 1960s supermarket.

 

[genjiZERO]

Wow that's crazy. At 5'10" I weigh 155 on a bad day. I've never dated anyone who was over 110 either. All I eat is white rice and meat too. But I'm pretty active overall.

 

[opticalmace]

This is actually incorrect. Modern processed foods are way more numerous today. We also have more variety in fruits and vegetables. Good luck finding arugula in a 1960s supermarket.

That's what he/she said, I think you misread it.

 

[entremet]

That's what he/she said, I think you misread it.

Ah. Sorry bud.

I still haven't finished my first coffee.

 

[Hycran]

"Between the early 1960s and 2010, the average American woman’s weight increased from around 140 pounds to 166.2 pounds. The years haven’t been so kind to men either, since the average American man’s weight increased from 166.3 in the early 1960s to 195.5 in 2010"

So basically what this is saying is that women were on average overweight in the 60's and have only gotten worse, whereas men were not too bad but have become awful? Pretty sad news in context.

I weigh around 205, but I'm also 6'5. It's hard for me to imagine the average 5'9 male weighing as much as I do.

 

[Escape Goat]

Somehow its the gays fault.

 

[idlewild_]

Serious question, is there a reason that these articles always use means instead of medians? Is it for additional shock factor or is there some statistical reason?

 

[igordennis]

"Between the early 1960s and 2010, the average American woman’s weight increased from around 140 pounds to 166.2 pounds. The years haven’t been so kind to men either, since the average American man’s weight increased from 166.3 in the early 1960s to 195.5 in 2010"

So basically what this is saying is that women were on average overweight in the 60's and have only gotten worse, whereas men were not too bad but have become awful? Pretty sad news in context.

I weigh around 205, but I'm also 6'5. It's hard for me to imagine the average 5'9 male weighing as much as I do.

Hard to imagine? Isnt that type of body extremely common in the USA? Assuming you are american (majority of gaf).

 

[Spinluck]

Wow, I'm 6'2" and lighter than the average woman

 

[Bel Marduk]

... but genetics?

 

[excelsiorlef]

"Between the early 1960s and 2010, the average American woman’s weight increased from around 140 pounds to 166.2 pounds. The years haven’t been so kind to men either, since the average American man’s weight increased from 166.3 in the early 1960s to 195.5 in 2010"

So basically what this is saying is that women were on average overweight in the 60's and have only gotten worse, whereas men were not too bad but have become awful? Pretty sad news in context.

I weigh around 205, but I'm also 6'5. It's hard for me to imagine the average 5'9 male weighing as much as I do.

:| 140 lbs at an average of 5'3" is a BMi of 24.8 which is in normal weight range.

Christ and people wonder where the pressure for women to be thin comes from.

 

[PHOENIXZERO]

I'm pretty sure this was posted a month ago, at least I remember seeing it.

Not surprising though, people in general are less active today (and less people stuck in cubicles) then they were 40-50 years ago on top of people just eating a lot more shit these days.

 

[params7]

Of course. I bet fast food culture has grown proportional to that as well.

 

[youngplaya21]

:| 140 lbs at an average of 5'3" is a BMi of 24.8 which is in normal weight range.

Christ and people wonder where the pressure for women to be thin comes from.

I'm confused. You're saying that the average woman in the 1960's was in the normal weight range, but who was arguing the contrary?

Edit: holy crap, nvm lol. Yeah I'm with you on that

 

[kirblar]

Build matters - for me at 6' (with big legs) going down to 170 is incredibly unhealthy, but for a guy which a much leaner frame, it's a great walking around weight.

 

[Kitsunebaby]

I'm confused. You're saying that the average woman in the 1960's was in the normal weight range, but who was arguing the contrary?

The person he's quoting?

Build matters - for me at 6' (with big legs) going down to 170 is incredibly unhealthy, but for a guy which a much leaner frame, it's a great walking around weight.

This is the thing that kind of bothers me about BMI. I have a friend the same height as me, who's technically underweight according to BMI. However, her rib cage, shoulders, and pelvis are incredibly narrow compared to mine. If she was the same weight as me she'd technically be in the "healthy" range but a lot less lean.

It would really be nice if body fat percentage tests were more accessible.

 

[Cagey]

I'm confused. You're saying that the average woman in the 1960's was in the normal weight range, but who was arguing the contrary?

Given 25.0 is the beginning of the "overweight" range, 24.8 falls within the "normal weight" range, but acting as if there's some shocking perspective warp for a person to see that BMI as "overweight" is nonsense.

EDIT: 5'3", 141 pounds puts the person in the overweight range. One pound difference. One. A person who is 5'3" 140 pounds who has a hearty dinner and retains some water weight the next morning would magically jump from "normal" to "overweight".

 

[excelsiorlef]

I'm confused. You're saying that the average woman in the 1960's was in the normal weight range, but who was arguing the contrary?

From the post I quoted

So basically what this is saying is that women were on average overweight in the 60's and have only gotten worse

Implying that 140 lbs is overweight at the average height.

 

[bill0527]

Everyone smoked cigarettes up until the 1980s and then the government realized how much they were spending on smoker's healthcare.

When they got people to quit, those people gained weight as that's what usually happens to anyone I know who has quit.

That's one theory anyway.

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

Fast food is cheaper, easier, and tastes dramatically better than healthier foods, and most americans are overworked and have lots of kids so they arent going to go home and workout.

 

[entremet]

Fast food is cheaper, easier, and tastes dramatically better than healthier foods, and most americans are overworked and have lots of kids so they arent going to go home and workout.

Gyms weren't as numerous in the 60s as today. I'd wager less people even went to the gym back then

 

[AllIsOneIsNone]

Fast food is cheaper, easier, and tastes dramatically better than healthier foods, and most americans are overworked and have lots of kids so they arent going to go home and workout.

If you like that processed food taste, yea. I like the taste of freshness more, although a fast food burger is tasty every once in a while.

I weigh about the current average woman weight and I'm 6'.

 

[kirblar]

Gyms weren't as numerous in the 60s as today. I'd wager less people even went to the gym back then

People had to do a lot more physical labor naturally back then too.

You can still see the discrepancy today- rural guys are stronger than urban ones as a whole.

 

[excelsiorlef]

Given 25.0 is the beginning of the "overweight" range, 24.8 falls within the "normal weight" range, but acting as if there's some shocking perspective warp for a person to see that BMI as "overweight" is nonsense.

EDIT: 5'3", 141 pounds puts the person in the overweight range. One pound difference. One. A person who is 5'3" 140 pounds who has a hearty dinner and retains some water weight the next morning would magically jump from "normal" to "overweight".

Well it shows a warped perspective:

140 for women seen as overweight and getting worse

166.3 for men was seen as not to bad.

Reality:

Women: The average of 5'3" 140lbs is at the tail end of the normal range

Men: The Average of 5'8" 166.3lbs actually falls into the the beginning of overweight at BMI 5.3

So nitpicky? Maybe but still an absolutely warped perspective wherein a tail end of normal score for women is seen as overweight and an actually an overweight score for men is seen as not too bad.

 

[Cagey]

Well it shows a warped perspective:

140 for women seen as overweight and getting worse

166 for men was seen as not to bad.

Reality:

Women: The average of 5'3" 140lbs is at the tail end of the normal range

Men: The Average of 5'8" actually falls into the the beginning of overweight at BMI 5.2

So nitpicky? Maybe but still an asbolutely warped perspective wherein a tail end of normal score for women is seen as overweight and an actually an overweight score for men is seen as not too bad.

Nitpicky? That's an understatement. A person can vary from 138-142 pounds in a given day based on food consumption and subsequent water retention, thus the same person is varying between normal and overweight. Absolutely warped? This is total nonsense.

 

[excelsiorlef]

Nitpicky? That's an understatement. A person can vary from 138-142 pounds in a given day based on food consumption and subsequent water retention, thus the same person is varying between normal and overweight. Absolutely warped? This is total nonsense.

Like I said only one of the two was called Overweight and it wasn't the one that was actually in the overweight section. That was what I meant by warped perspective.

I think that highlights how weight is seen differently for women and men

 

[Cagey]

Like I said only one of the two was called Overweight and it wasn't the one that was actually in the overweight section. That was what I meant by warped perspective.

I think that highlights how weight is seen differently for women and men

I must sincerely apologize, I misread that last portion in your prior post. Regarding gender views, I agree. I don't think we're too exacting for women in this thread; I think we're too forgiving for men. The standard should raise for men.

 

[Beelzebufo]

Its exponential. Fat people in Missouri have fat children that all have fat children, dragging up the averages.

 

[ATF487]

Wow, I'm 6'2" and lighter than the average woman

Holy shit, me too.

I think I've lost nearly 10 pounds since I've been running more and started trying to eat a low fodmap diet though. If I can start lifting well again I'm hoping to be more around 180lbs

Interesting way to frame the conversation, though.

 

[excelsiorlef]

I must sincerely apologize, I misread that last portion in your prior post. Regarding gender views, I agree. I don't think we're too exacting for women in this thread; I think we're too forgiving for men. The standard should raise for men.

Hey thanks for that.

I'll disagree in that I don't think 140 is all that bad and definitely shouldn't be thought as overweight at 5 foot 3 (but definitely a I'm ok here but let's avoid going higher)

Though I maybe reacted harshly (again that was brought on by the ridiculous double standard presented) but women of healthy weight are repeatedly seen as fat and overweight all the time and it just kinda sets me off.

 

[Daedardus]

Fast food is cheaper, easier, and tastes dramatically better than healthier foods, and most americans are overworked and have lots of kids so they arent going to go home and workout.

If you can cook well (which everyone does after a bit of practice), fresh food tastes infinitely better than those burgers you can find at McDonalds.

 

[eot]

Fast food is cheaper, easier, and tastes dramatically better than healthier foods, and most americans are overworked and have lots of kids so they arent going to go home and workout.

Sure as shit doesn't

Mmmm, all that grease

 

[Condom]

That is more than 75 kilos? Holy shit, wtf is wrong with this society damn it.

We're pretty much doomed without rigorous regulation, taxing and campaigning.

Jesus Christ, I'd have to fucking eat twice as much every day to gradually gain weight and hope to achieve 75 kilos at 5'9".

 

[entremet]

That is more than 75 kilos? Holy shit, wtf is wrong with this society damn it.

We're pretty much doomed without rigorous regulation, taxing and campaigning.

Jesus Christ, I'd have to fucking eat twice as much every day to gradually gain weight and hope to achieve 75 kilos at 5'9".

Really it's evolutionary problem. We simply don't evolve fast enough.

Our bodies were designed for a lot of activity--we get way less these days due to cars and sedentary careers.

And calories are pretty plentiful and almost unlimited.

Not only that but we have very smart and motivated people making calories cheaper and tastier and more addictive.

 

[PHOENIXZERO]

Going off a BMI chart is a pretty shitty tool to measure if someone is obese or not.

 

[n0razi]

we also live about 10 years longer...

 

[Madness]

Well the average American diet also now has 600 more calories per day since the 70's. Add that up over the course of a year and you can see why so many Americans are now obese. Overeating is rampant these days.

Like a week back, someone showed a pic on my IG feed of the biggest man in the world in 1903 and yet he looked almost identical to a fat Baltimore policeman today.

 

[entremet]

we also live about 10 years longer...

Mass smoking cessation has helped with this as have advances in medical science, cancer treatments, statins, heart surgery and the like.

 

[Kusagari]

Going off a BMI chart is a pretty shitty tool to measure if someone is obese or not.

Not really. Most people aren't body builders. If your weight/height ratio is high enough to classify as obese, chances are you're extremely unhealthy.

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

If you can cook well (which everyone does after a bit of practice), fresh food tastes infinitely better than those burgers you can find at McDonalds.

Maybe its because thats what i ate my whole life. I just started eating healthy this month and i crave burgers really badly sometimes.

 

[hey_it's_that_dog]

... but genetics?

The fact that average weight has increased over time does not eliminate the possibility that genetics cause some of the variation between individuals in a cross-sectional sample.

There have always been heavier and lighter people, holding diet constant. Changes in diet over time have increased the average weight of the sample, but within that sample, there are still heavier and lighter people.

 

[Darksol]

Well the average American diet also now has 600 more calories per day since the 70's. Add that up over the course of a year and you can see why so many Americans are now obese. Overeating is rampant these days.

Like a week back, someone showed a pic on my IG feed of the biggest man in the world in 1903 and yet he looked almost identical to a fat Baltimore policeman today.

That cop is more than just fat.

 

[Maximus.]

They also have access to a lot more variety of foods than back then too. A lot of which are not good for you long term

You could say the same about the access of food today too haha.

 

[SeanR1221]

I feel like there's a new thread on this every day. It's really really sad at this point :/

It's also why I'm against the fat acceptance movement. We're eating ourselves into an early grave. It's not acceptable.

 

[malfcn]

Capitalism and fast food..

Those value meals putting in work. Nobody wants to say no to doubling your portion for a dime more. It's ingrained into the fabric of society that you need to get as much as you can for as little.

 

[Lovely Salsa]

holy shit

35% are considered obese?? jesus

Whats average height in america for men?

 

[jhmtehgamr20xx]

As long as that extra weight's in the right places, I can't complain.

Fast food is cheaper, easier, and tastes dramatically better than healthier foods, and most americans are overworked and have lots of kids so they arent going to go home and workout.

This almost sounds like a slogan for McDonald's comeback campaign.