Every food commercial, advertisement, and packaging in the US is currently protein obsessed. I just bought 3 burritos, and the most noticeable thing on the entire package is its protein content. TV commercials about waffles are advertising that they have X amount of protein per serving. The products in my jobsite’s vending machine have protein all over every package.
Did America have a protein thing recently?
We actually just had another fitness epidemic here similar to the 90s but slightly more gym related than outdoor related. Protein powder was HUGE on tiktok shop and fairly big in stores. I happen to be a target of the powder supplement as a medical issue caused me to start my journey in losing over 100lbs in less than a year. I was having overnight oats with extra protein everyday. I have some left but now that I’ve lost the weight and kept most of the muscle, I’m back on whole foods only, especially for protein.
Edit: if you look it up, theres’s a lot written about the “fitness influencer to right wing pipeline”
There was a fitness epidemic in the 90s?!
Aerobics and running were big in the late 70s to early 80s, but the 90s was about being big and soft. The clothes were oversized. Waists were high. Centerfolds had big boobs and wide waists.
The 90s was obsessed with “lite”, i.e. cutting fats – especially saturated fats – out of foods, and with lowering cholesterol. Oh, and fiber. I don’t recall any fitness craze, though.
You’re absolutely right about the right-wing machismo trend. Manly men eat lots of meat and maximize protein. Just look how manly I am with my steak, nevermind how I waddled in from my lifted pickup.
I was just a kid but I guess I just mean that people were more active outdoors. I used to see skateboarders and bmx people everywhere, baseball fields being used quite often, parents riding bikes on trails, families camping, that kinda stuff. I lived in Northern Virginia right near the Potomac River where the population was fairly dense so maybe that skewed my view of the world a bit.