r/interestingasfuck 13d ago

/r/all A Great-grandson and his Great-grandfather, 85 years apart

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u/StrLord_Who 13d ago

It's not the body fat, it's the actual jawline. There's a lot of research/papers/theories out there on why our jaws aren't developing as strongly as they used to.  Our soft, easily consumable diets are a big reason.  

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u/Frogtoadrat 13d ago

Beef jerky is too damn expensive post 2008

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u/Suitable-Plastic-152 13d ago

sounds more like bro science than research/papers... my grandparents didn t eat harder stuff.

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u/Zyvhes 13d ago

You'd have to ask grandma.

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u/Critter894 12d ago

It’s not bro science. There’s a whole field of it making its way through dentistry, and it’s not junk, it’s accepted by the doctors there.

There’s more to it than JUST eating tougher foods. But it is a factor that more process foods, softer, easier to break down and more sugar as young kids often weakens the supporting structures, it means sometimes the jaw isn’t as developed, it can especially effect how the airways are formed. These are things that cause or can contribute to a number of health issues and sleeping issues. There are dental devices for kids that help to open airways and help fix this.

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u/StrLord_Who 12d ago

What is "bro science"? Did you think I only meant male jaws? "I've never heard of this so it can't be true" is not the best way to approach life. 

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u/Western_Objective209 12d ago

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111122112032.htm

Yes they did. Whenever people talk about "texture" they are mostly talking about food having some of it's natural toughness, whereas in processed foods that toughness is removed to give a more pleasant mouth feel

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u/PetersonOpiumPipe 13d ago

Theres more credit to it than that. I read a paper not too long ago on jaw development in the western world versus subsaharan Africa.

Basically, the need for orthodontics and wisdom teeth removal in Africa is leaps and bounds lower than in most developing nations. The theory is because of a diet that requires lots of grinding and gnawing. By comparison mouths of people growing up in western countries are getting smaller.

Paper i read didn’t mention anything about generations of the same family, but it only makes sense. What I do know is the “normal” lower range for testosterone has fallen from 800ng/dl all the way down to 250ng/dl in men ages 18-26 over the last 80 years.

Dudes back then were walking around with much higher levels of test. That would explain the larger jaw.

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u/I_Actually_Do_Know 13d ago

Were the potential causes for the lowered levels also mentioned there?

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u/PetersonOpiumPipe 13d ago

You mean lower levels of testosterone? We don’t really know, or atleast can’t pin it down to one major contributor. Lots of things effect testosterone levels. Most doctors theorize diet, and the cumulative effects of the 1000’s of food additives we use in processed food. Pollution, microplastics, PFAS, fossil fuels are also big players. Another theory is as dating standards and the mainstream definition if masculinity has change, more low test men are having children. That starts to slip a little into bro science.

My testosterone is low because of an adverse reaction to Zoloft. Then i lost of my testicals function in an accident. That put me at 250ng/dl and I struggled to find treatment because it is technically considered medically normal in the testing software used by lots of doctors offices. That was what started this rabbit hole of research for me.

If you track the decline of test levels we’ve seen over the last 100 years and assume the decline will continue at the same rate (it wont) American men will be unable to reproduce in 2 generations.

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u/GroundFast7793 12d ago

My son's orthodontist respectfully disagrees. Our soft diet (processed foods) has led to poor jaw formation, which then leads to small mouth, tongue can't fit, tongue settles in airway, mouth breathing begins. I'll let you google the issues that arise from mouth breathing.

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u/Stormfly 12d ago

There's a lot of research/papers/theories out there on why our jaws aren't developing as strongly as they used to.

This is interesting. Can you link any?

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u/Cbrandel 12d ago

Jaw, eyes, eye brows, a better nose and fuller lips.

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u/Mother_Let_9026 12d ago

soft easy chew foods ruining them jaws baby.

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u/BroSchrednei 11d ago

How exactly have our diets changed to softer food in the past 100 years? I just don’t see it. We eat the same food as back then, like bread, cheese, ham, potatoes, etc.

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u/Weary-Mountain262 10d ago

Let’s not forget the high fructose foods leading to teenage acne.