Adult obesity
1976–198015%
2021–202340.3%
U.S. adults; measured NHANES data.
Why the name?
Why 1977?
In the mid-1970s, something began to change.
A changing food landscape. A changing America.
Americans were entering a new era of nutrition advice, food production, and eating habits. Over the decades that followed, so was our health.
Childhood obesity
1976–19805.5%
2021–202321.1%
U.S. children and adolescents ages 2–19; measured NHANES data.
What changed?
Today, type 2 diabetes, metabolic disease, and fatty liver disease are major public-health concerns—including conditions increasingly seen in younger people.
A place to look back—and move forward.
We believe the mid-1970s marked an important shift in America’s relationship with food. The food landscape was changing. Highly processed foods were becoming a larger part of the American diet, nutrition guidelines were evolving, and the way we thought about food, fat, carbohydrates, and health began to change with them.
Nearly fifty years later, we have the benefit of looking back.
Which changes helped us? Which didn’t? And what can we learn from both?
The 1977 Foundation isn’t about returning to the past. It’s about understanding it—questioning assumptions, learning from the evidence, and using what we’ve learned to make better choices about food and health moving forward.
What changed in the way we eat?
What changed in the foods available to us? What did we get right—and what might be worth reconsidering?
That's why we're called the 1977 Foundation.