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A 2016 study published in the journal Obesity Research & Clinical Practice found
that it’s harder for adults today to maintain the same weight as those
20 to 30 years ago did, even at the same levels of food intake and
exercise. The authors examined the dietary data of 36,400
Americans between 1971 and 2008 and the physical activity data of 14,419
people between 1988 and 2006. They grouped the data sets together by
the amount of food and activity, age, and BMI.
They found a very surprising correlation: A
given person, in 2006, eating the same amount of calories, taking in the
same quantities of macronutrients like protein and fat, and exercising
the same amount as a person of the same age did in 1988 would have a BMI
that was about 2.3 points higher. In other words, people today are
about 10 percent heavier than people were in the 1980s, even if they
follow the exact same diet and exercise plans.
“Our study results suggest that if you are 25,
you’d have to eat even less and exercise more than those older, to
prevent gaining weight,” Jennifer Kuk, a professor of kinesiology and
health science at Toronto’s York University, said in a statement. “However, it also indicates there may be other specific changes
contributing to the rise in obesity beyond just diet and exercise.”
Just what those other changes might be, though,
are still a matter of hypothesis. In an interview, Kuk proffered three
different factors that might be making harder for adults today to stay
thin.
First, people are exposed to more chemicals that
might be weight-gain inducing. Pesticides, flame retardants, and the
substances in food packaging might all be altering our hormonal
processes and tweaking the way our bodies put on and maintain weight.
Second, the use of prescription drugs has risen
dramatically since the ‘70s and ‘80s. Prozac, the first blockbuster
SSRI, came out in 1988. Antidepressants are now one of the most commonly
prescribed drugs in the U.S., and many of them have been linked to weight gain.
Finally, Kuk and the other study authors think
that the microbiomes of Americans might have somehow changed between the
1980s and now. It’s well known that some types of gut bacteria make a
person more prone to weight gain and obesity. Americans are eating more meat
than they were a few decades ago, and many animal products are treated
with hormones and antibiotics in order to promote growth. All that meat
might be changing gut bacteria in ways that are subtle, at first, but add up over time. Kuk believes the proliferation of artificial sweeteners could also be playing a role. (Read more.)
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