Slimming sixties not a myth (UK)

"Despite fewer visits to gyms and a love of high-fat foods, people in the 1960s were slimmer simply because they were more active, the government says. Rates of obesity in English adults have risen from 1-2% in the 1960s to around 26% today, figures show. Yet in 2010, overweight adults are far less likely to try to lose weight, a repeat of a survey done in 1967 showed. Plus adults in the 1960s did more housework and used the car less, the Department of Health said. The 1967 survey of 1,900 adults found nine in ten people had attempted to lose weight in the past year compared with 57% of 1,500 adults questioned in 2010. Forty years ago, only 7% of those who considered themselves to be overweight had failed to do anything about it compared with 43% of today's adults. And in 1967, 66% of those surveyed said they wanted to lose up to a stone compared with 46% in 2010"