Did Children Lead Healthier Lives 50 years ago?

• Little Danny

  

  I saw this questions raised in the Dispatch today. An overwhelming majority (80%) said yes. I tend to agree. Little Johnny and Susie spent all day in the summers, on the weekends and after school playing outside and exercising. They did not come home to a dinner of 2 cheeseburgers and fries from McDonald's.
  
  What say you?
• krambman

  

  I'm not sure that they ate healthier foods 50 years ago (a lot more trans fats) but they probably ate more balanced and definitely exercised more, so overall, yes, I'd say they lead healthier lives 50 years ago.
• queencitybuckeye

  Didn't have the gamut of anti-bacterial products, resulting in immune systems capable of fighting off various bugs.
• Quint

  

  Kids 50 years ago were subject to a lot more Mercury and Lead than kids are today.
• darbypitcher22

  

  I'd say yeah they probably did.
• ts1227

  

  When you ask a brain drained state with a population that is overwhelmingly part of that generation, hell yes they're going to respond that way!
  
  But seriously, as Krambman says: there's no way they ate healthier, but there was more physical activity to negate it.
• wkfan

  50 years ago......
  
  Some positives:
  More exercise
  Fewer preservatives and 'crap'n prepared food
  Less fast food
  Less 'structure' (i.e. more time to be a kid)
  More secure environment (i.e. less worries about crime, etc)
  
  Some negatives:
  More lead in paint, mercury, etc
  fewer vaccines and medication to cure disease
  More smoking and second hand smoke
  
  All in all...healthier lifestyle in 1960.
• BuckeyeBlue

  

  I tend to agree with those who say yes. Kids in that time didn't spend their days after school in front of the television or playing XBox. The food may have been higher in trans fats, but it wasn't nearly as processed as today's food. The fast food mentality also wasn't nearly as prevalent back then.
• I Wear Pants

  I'd say about the same, there are more complete lard-asses now than there were then but I think the same can be said for people who are hardcore about exercising and having a balanced and proper diet.
• NNN

  

  Am I the only one that questions the merit in asking people who actually still read newspapers if anything was better "back when I was a pup"?
  
  How's that saying go...."The older I get, the better things were"?
• I Wear Pants

  http://aging.senate.gov/crs/aging1.pdf
  
  Check out page three.
• Con_Alma

  ...thought this was related.
  
  Although it may not be cause and effect this article reports an association with kids obesity and the following three things. They may also impact behavior and cognitive development in a positive manner.
  
  1. "Regularly" eat dinner with your family
  
  2. Get "enough" sleep
  
  3. Watch less than two hours of TV per day
  
  
  "...If it seems impossible to institute all three of these behaviors, Anderson said that any one of them alone can have an effect. ..."
  
  I found this line sad. These are not that difficult. How could it be impossible?
  
  http://health.yahoo.com/news/healthday/3homehabitshelpyoungstersstayslim.html
• rookie_j70

  

  kids today cant get any exercise due to the wussification of America. some parents try to smother their kids and keep them out of harm's way. also in school, recess and gym are being banned because it is emotionaly damaging to be decked with a dodgeball.
• charliehustle14

  rookie_j70 wrote: kids today cant get any exercise due to the wussification of America. some parents try to smother their kids and keep them out of harm's way. also in school, recess and gym are being banned because it is emotionaly damaging to be decked with a dodgeball.

  Ah, they're full of horse shit. Nothing cleanses the soul like getting sniped in the face by a 68 MPH dodge ball.
  
  I know a lot of schools actually did away with the traditional dodge balls and use those cheap ass soft balls so no one gets hurt. I know during my sophomore year, my school got rid of all the traditional dodge balls and went with those soft ones because one kid had panic attacks whenever it came to dodge ball.
• Little Danny

  

  Anyone used to play "Wall Ball"? That was a game we used to play with a tennis ball or a raquetball. The object was to throw the ball against the wall as hard as you can. The ball would bounce back to some other poor slob who wold have to either catch the ball on the fly or on a bounce. If he dropped the ball, he had to run to the wall as fast as he can. Someone else would pick up the ball and either peg the guy or throw the ball against the wall. If the initial dropper did not beat the throw, he was forced to spread eagle on the wall while everyone took turns pegging him with the ball.
  
  It was one of the most popular games at school. We used to play in the mornings and/or at lunch. Of course, it was a game that was frowned upon by the school admin. Eventually they would ban it for a while after someone get hit in the face but after a month or so we would pick right up where we left off.
  
  Looking back on it, it was great cardiovascular exercise, helped develop eye-hand coordination and it taught you survival skills. The ball would sting for a while and occasionally someone might get a busted lip, but no one died from it.
• THE4RINGZ

  

  We used to play a game called "Red Rover" until it got banned. It only got banned because some chick got clotheslined on the asphalt playground.
  
  If you remember the game you'll know what I am talking about.
• Little Danny

  

  THE4RINGZ wrote: We used to play a game called "Red Rover" until it got banned. It only got banned because some chick got clotheslined on the asphalt playground.
  
  If you remember the game you'll know what I am talking about.

  "Red Rover, Red Rover, Send THE4RINGZ right over"
  
  Yeah we played that too. Often with the same results. That was what made the game so fun.
• THE4RINGZ

  

  Yeah there was nothing better than turning your hands so that you caught them with your forearm in the neck region. You had to be healthier back in the day just to survive some of that kind of shit.
• HitsRus

  

  I think when you look at the stats for obesity in kids today and the availability of drugs in middle school and high school you have to come to the conclusion that the "general" lifestyle was healthier for children back then. I think the opposite may be true for adults. Increased awareness of risks and hazards and medical advances have led to increased longetivity.
• Little Danny

  

  HitsRus wrote: I think when you look at the stats for obesity in kids today and the availability of drugs in middle school and high school you have to come to the conclusion that the "general" lifestyle was healthier for children back then. I think the opposite may be true for adults. Increased awareness of risks and hazards and medical advances have led to increased longetivity.

  Hits, if I recall you are in the medical community. This may be the case now, but what do you think is going to happen to all of these unhealthy kids when they become adults.
• ernest_t_bass

  

  Yes. A simple yes.
• Gblock

  dental wise i would say no....no flouride in the water, most older people from that generation have no teeth
• Con_Alma

  Fluoride has been added to tap water for many, many decades.
  
  More than 60 plus years I believe.
  
  http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/teeth/fluoride.html
• chs71

  Are there more overweight children now, or fifty years ago?
  
  Are there more mentally ill children now, or fifty years ago?
• HitsRus

  

  Probably more today in both categories, but our definition of mental illness has changed too.
  
  I think there are some interesting changes that has occurred in our lifestyle....there are more 'opportunities' to be unhealthy as well as opportunities to choose health. By that I mean that increases in technology and mobility give our kids more opportunities to sit and be sedentary ( computers/video games/ children/teen TV programming)...and more opportunities to get into trouble with drugs and alcohol, as well as giving them more access to fast food. On the other side, there are more opportunities for athletic training and physical fitness, and better choices of food, and awareness/education.