This would seem to support my argument that the current obesity problem in children and youth is primarily caused by a largely sedentary lifestyle in which very few calories are burned by exercise. When I was growing up in the 1960’s, there were very few really obese kids in school. We had actual PE classes and almost all the kids would engage in various physical activities for a couple hours after school and all day in the summer. Most of us were skinny and couldn’t gain much weight if we tried. The parents didn’t even want the kids in the house until dinner time.
And when those street lights went on...the dash for home began.
I don’t believe it’s because of a lack of exercise. Exercise, while beneficial for other things, doesn’t burn enough calories to really affect weight gain or loss materially unless you’re an olympic athlete. The old saying that ounces are lost in the gym and pounds lost at the table applies. It’s something to do with the food, whether that’s because of all the processed crap we eat now or we’re just overeating because of too large portion sizes.
I saw a video of Mama Cass from back in the sixties and she wasn’t nearly as fat as I remember her being A lot of women walking down any given street today are as fat and many a hell of a lot fatter.