The Thin End

In the 1950s, children played in the streets.  They ran around playing 'cowboys and Indians' or re-enacting some wartime exploits, or they pulled themselves around on make-shift carts made with pram wheels, or played games like hop-scotch.  We ran around in circles pretending to be this and that.  Now children play outdoors less and sit indoors more.  Were we healthier for it?  Many of the baby boomers, those born in the late 1940s to early 50s were obese in later life.  Their lifestyles changed as they moved into the consumer society.   They moved around less and diets, on the whole, became 'richer', but probably more unhealthy.  They were the baby boomers.  The majority of baby boomers are now obese in later life.   But for each subsequent generation, the age at which obesity sets in appears to be getting younger.  A recent study of Americans showed that obesity rates increased markedly for the baby boomers, be...