Obesity, it's not your fault!

This 1976 photo is causing quite a fuss! This photo was taken on Brighton beach in England during the long hot summer of 1976. The photo was published in The Guardian, an independent newspaper in the UK and social media goes viral about the 'why'.
Why no one in the picture is fat! If you were to compare this photo to a photo you took in the same conditions today, you would see a completely different picture.

Why would you see a huge difference?
First, in 1976, there were very few fast food stores and things were relatively more expensive. Nowhere near did you have the availability of choice like in supermarkets today. All stores closed early, so if you had to go to the store for food, you were out of luck. There weren't really take-out and delivery services. The only takeaway was the occasional fish and chips and a cake from the bakery.

But here comes the surprise; we ate MORE in 1976 than we do now. Government figures show that the average person today consumes 2,130 calories a day, including confectionery and alcohol. In 1976, we consumed 2,590 calories!

What about movement?
People say that nowadays we are more seated than we used to, that we drive everywhere instead of walking or
cycling, ordering more online and often sitting behind a screen. Here comes the next surprise; a lengthy study by 'Plymouth University' showed that children's physical activity is the same as 50 years ago. There are also more bikes sold year after year, there are bike trails everywhere and 24-hour gyms everywhere. Everyone seems to be exercising more than ever, but you can't exercise away a bad diet!

We've only gotten fatter.
We know we ate MORE in 1976, but we ate DIFFERENTLY. Today, we buy more than five times as much yogurt, three times as much ice cream and 39 times as many dairy desserts. We buy half as many eggs as in 1976, but a third more cereal and twice as many cereal products. We eat half of the total number of potatoes in 1976, but three times the amount of chips. Procurement of direct sugar has declined slightly, but the sugar we consume has exploded, including sugar in beverages and processed foods.