[Goethic]

I came across an interesting article the other day from the NY Times from 1922 that was a study of the heaight and weight of the US fighting man of the era. It also explained which states had the most fit men, which had higher rates of defects, and the areas that appeared to produce the best specimens.

Interesting.

I would like to see how these numbers compare to 2010 America.

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9B00E7DD1339EF3ABC4E53DFBE668389639EDE

 

[trixie]

5'7" and 141 lbs, lol not anymore.

 

[Sail Man]

5'7" and 141 lbs, lol not anymore.

Damn, I would have darn near tall back then

 

[Goethic]

5'7" and 141 lbs, lol not anymore.

They have been rerunning the 70s show, The World at War recently on the military channel. There is a lot of footage of typical soldiers from WW2, i.e. getting their physicals at the time of induction.

Holy Toledo! By today's standards they seem downright anorexic. I am amazed to read that they had lots of problems with some not being able to make the MINIMUM weight standard... Not the case these days...

 

[Moccasin]

They have been rerunning the 70s show, The World at War recently on the military channel. There is a lot of footage of typical soldiers from WW2, i.e. getting their physicals at the time of induction.

Holy Toledo! By today's standards they seem downright anorexic. I am amazed to read that they had lots of problems with some not being able to make the MINIMUM weight standard... Not the case these days...

Yes, this was a major problem during WWII: So many kids had grown up eating poorly during the Depression, and untreated health problems were so prevalent, that 4F's were being handed out right and left. It's the main reason the government got so into promoting nutrition, regular checkups (in school, if no where else), and making sure children grew up healthy and strong during the '50's: So that in the next war, they'd be sure to have all the manpower they needed...

 

[anne36]

I was thinking they must have had poor nutrition. Even for the height, that is low weight.

 

[janit0r]

you are aware that in the future, war will be fought via gaming consoles, right? it will similar to avatar.

 

[blackkitty]

Yes, this was a major problem during WWII: So many kids had grown up eating poorly during the Depression, and untreated health problems were so prevalent, that 4F's were being handed out right and left. It's the main reason the government got so into promoting nutrition, regular checkups (in school, if no where else), and making sure children grew up healthy and strong during the '50's: So that in the next war, they'd be sure to have all the manpower they needed...

Exactly...2 programs come to mind....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supplemental_Nutrition_Assistance_Program

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_School_Lunch_Act

They also got surplus farmers foods into the hands of those that needed it...so its also a subsidy for farmers.

 

[vegasrandall]

no food stamps,no handouts back then.

 

[hank2222]

you want to see how big people where back then ..go to Tombstone Az and go to the bars there and stand next to the bar and you see that most people where a small size than they are now ..when i went into the one bar and was standing next to the bar it hit me about waist high iam 6.ft 3.inchs tall ..

 

[brutalsun]

Are ya'll really surprised at how big we are? Look at the hormones they add to our food... hell just the chickens get a complement of drugs to make them big and plump within 6 weeks. We eat that.

 

[Haffenreffer]

Most people back then were farmers or did manual labor jobs.

They didn't have McDonalds, Xbox, and facebook is those days.

 

[Cool Hand]

no food stamps,no handouts back then.

No Whoppers, Big Macs, or chicken nuggets either...

 

[Adapt]

Damn...I took a shiat bigger than that this morning.

 

[Carne Frio]

5'7" and 141 lbs, lol not anymore.

That's about the size of the average American woman.:

 

[Jixijenga]

I'm 6'3" and 184lbs. (last time I checked my weight, I don't care so I don't do it often) I do have flat feet, I'm so nearsighted I'm probably legally blind and I've gotten more than one hernia in my life. There's probably no way I'd be able to join the military in WWI. I've already gotten turned down for medical reasons, anyways.