According to Reuters, "overweight people eat more than thin people and are more likely to travel by car, making excess body weight doubly bad for the environment, according to a study from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine." First, overweight people don't necessarily eat more. And second, rather than telling people to lose weight so they can drive less, why not just tell them to drive less? Cut out the middleman! Contrary to stereotype, plenty of overweight people already enjoy biking, walking, and other environmentally friendly pursuits — can't we just make these options more attractive by, say, designing walkable neighborhoods, offering incentives to bike to work, and creating more bike paths? And what about increased funding for public transportation? Telling people to put down that cheeseburger and save the environment just sounds like a great way to shift the responsibility for climate change off onto individuals, rather than enacting large-scale policies that could actually fix the problem.

But why build a bike path when there's a groovier way to save the world — a "1970's lifestyle!" According to the BBC, back in the 70's the UK had "a 'normal' adult population, where only 3.5% are classed as obese." "In the 1970s," says Professor Alan Maryon-Davis, president of the Faculty of Public Health, "we had bigger portions of vegetables and smaller portions of meat and there's been a shift in the amount of exercise we do." If people's bodies have changed since the 70's, we should probably look at the reasons why — like longer work hours and walking-unfriendly communities. A lot of these issues, if addressed, might help stop climate change anyway, irrespective of their effects on our weight. But if you really want to burn calories while living a 70's lifestyle, there's always disco.

Stay Slim To Save The Planet [Reuters]
1970s Lifestyle 'Protects Planet' [BBC]

Though the ad does feature two girls and a multi-ethnic cast, we question how progressive it really was, since the African-American girl's face is only shown for a split second. Why does the Peter Brady look-alike get all the screen time? Thanks to the reader who sent this tip. [Seriously? OMG!]

I've been wondering, while searching, why I haven't been getting as much variety as I'd hoped. Using the search engine, I've used the keywords "women" "woman" "female" and "fashion" or "style" or "models" or "actresses." And last night, it FINALLY occurred to me to try "girls." And of course, all these pictures of women came up. Surfer girls, chorus girls, girls in mini skirts. That's how they were captioned back then. It never dawned on me that I was being too modern about it. So. If you want to see "girls" of the 1930s, "girls" of the 1940s, "girls" of the 1950s or "girls" of the 1960s, I encourage you to poke around, and supplement my galleries of women in these decades.

And now: the 1970s.

California Girls. 1970.

The dog and the chick are living the dream.

Weightlifting Girls, 1972.

Former gymnasts and ballet dancers: Can you recall that thick itchy texture of the aptly named, unflattering thing known as the leotard?

Aspen girls, 1971.

Wow. Just wow. There's a whole series of shots on the "Aspen girl" lifestyle, which seems to involve skiing, swimming and booze.

Youths waiting at Battery Park to see Pope John Paul II. New York, 1979.

Only one young lady doesn't mind waiting to see the Pope. The others are all, "Come on, your holiness. It's freakin' raining."

LIFE Cover 4/2/1971 of pregnant teenager reading in front of class.

Don't you love when the years change and the headlines stay the same?

Enthusiastic and resolute women in large parade down Fifth Avenue on the 50th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which granted the women the right to vote, as they march for further women's rights. New York, September, 1970.

As the kids say: Awesomesauce.

Six generations of women from an American family. 1972. Photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt.

Amazing! So cool how some of them have glasses and all of them have the same wide mouth.

Signs saying "Women Unite" carried by women supporters during "Women's Liberation" demonstration on Fifth Avenue and on Wall Street. New York, 1970.

That is unite, not "untie."

Renate Stecher (R) in action during the women's 100 meter race at the Summer Olympics. Munich, 1972.

Do the American uniforms look like Garanimals?

US track athlete Mabel Fergerson in action at the Summer Olympics. Munich, 1972.

Fantastic shot.

Navajo woman modeling turquoise pins & a squash blossom necklace made by Native Americans. New Mexico, 1972.

Gorgeous. Want!

80 yr. old actress Mrs. Judith Lowry on motorcycle with grandson. 1970.

You don't even have to check Ms. Lowry's IMDb page to know that she is your new favorite person.

Congresswoman Bella S. Abzug attending political rally. 1972.

The word champagne and that hat and that dress = not politics as usual.

A female employee checking the gun that her boss keeps in the building for security purposes. 1972.

Note to self: Don't work here.

Female engineer Janet Petra Bonnema who was banned from a tunnel construction site because of superstitions. 1972.

Those fools! Have you ever heard of such an idiotic thing?

Democratic Reprsenative from California Mrs. Yvonne Brathwaite Burke. 1972

Yvonne Brathwaite Burke was the first African-American woman to represent the West Coast in Congress. She was a member of the California State Assembly from 1967–1973; was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives initially representing portions of Los Angeles from 1973–1979; represented the 4th district of L.A. from 1979–1980, and retired from the Los Angeles County board of supervisors on December 1 of 2008.

LIFE cover 08/21/1970: Mini skirted woman looking at a midi skirt for possible purchase.

This is an amazing photograph and proof that hem length is news-worthy!

Young African American girl blowing on a whistle. 1971.

I had a dress like that. Smocking was big.

Director Matt Cimber (R) directing the making of porn film "The Sexuous Woman." Hollywood,1970.

Sorry, but sex in that car cannot be comfortable.

Comedinne Phyllis Diller listening to the heart of a young woman during a "Stop Smoking Cruise." 1970.

El oh el at her eyebrows and watch!

Bizarrely dressed woman spectator at Watergate hearings. June, 1973.

"Deep throat is people!"

Gloria Steinem kneeling down beside Bella Abzug during the Democratic Convention. 1972.

This one seems like a good Hanukkah gift, no? Don't forget that any of these can be purchased framed!

Naked woman modeling body paint, which consists of a lei around her neck and pieces of fruit on her abdomen. 1970.

Yes, but: Why?

African American woman sitting on a motorcycle w. her child, part of the growing numbers of black motorcycle enthusiasts. 1971.

That kid definitely knows his mom is cooler than all of the other moms.

Employees of Saks Fifth Avenue watching a fashion show promoting midi-length skirts. 1970.

That front row is all disapproving malcontents. Love them.

Actor Rock Hudson sitting on MGM lot w. eight midi-skirted starlets who play opposite him in "Pretty Maids All In a Row." Hollywood, 1970.

Each of these dresses is wonderfully ridiculous in its own special way, and Rock Hudson knows it.

Instant Dress, 1972.

This dress also came in blue, and hopefully with instructions. It was called the "Instant Dress" but appeared to be a nylon sarong.

Instant dress, 1972.

Serving suggestions.

Actor Curt Jurgens w. wife and two female companions lathering up in a bathtub he had built in his den. France, 1972.

I want to go to there.

Candace Bergen, 1970.

This woman should always be surrounded by pastel rainbows.

Jane Fonda, 1971.

Jane Fonda, doing what she does best — bucking the system.

LIFE cover 05/07/1971 Feminist Germaine Greer.

Oh, hey!

Newlyweds kissing in heart-shaped tub on honeymoon at Cove Haven resort in the Poconos. 1971.

That camera on the tripod just left there all alone is Creepcity, USA.

"Lance Link - Secret Chimp" - TV Program. 1970.

Really? Really, America?

Contestant and Life Magazine reporter Judy Fayard on TV game show, "The Dating Game." Hollywood, 1972.

Sending out a big kiss to one of the best shows ever!

Cover of LIFE magazine dated 06/09/1972 w. pic of feminist Congresswoman Bella Abzug.

Again: Don't you love when the years change and the headlines stay the same?

Graduating African Americans wearing African style fashions at Howard University, during commencements. 1970.

Loving those glasses on the far right.

Kids' Wigs - J.C. Penny's Dept. Store. 1970.

Kid wigs! Click to see more styles!

Children at school bus stop. North Carolina, 1971.

Headband? Check. Glasses? Check. Braces? Check. Short-shorts? Check. Floral notebook? Check. Graphic jumpsuit? Check. Awesome sneakers? Check. Too cool for school? CHECK!

Life Magazine Photo Archive [Google]
Earlier: The Way We Were: Life Magazine Photos Of Women In The 1960s
The Way We Were: Life Magazine Photos Of Women In The 1950s
The Way We Were: Life Magazine Photos Of Women In The 1940s
The Way We Were: Life Magazine Photos Of Women In The 1930s

Says DVF, "It has been a unique phenomenon...What was new about my wrap dress was that I did it in jersey and therefore it molded the body and it was very flattering to the body." She told the Huffington Post in January,

The wrap dress is the most traditional form of dressing: It's like a robe, it's like a kimono, it's like a toga. It doesn't have buttons or zippers. What made it different was that it was jersey; therefore, it was close to the body and it was a print. And the first one was animal print so it made every woman look like a feline.

Adds a fan, "They make me feel not only sexy, but successful, sophisticated and timeless."

Well, that's great. And I know that's certainly the party line on the wrap, but while I've been dutifully adhering to the doctrine for years — primarily in knockoff form, but in a few second-hand cases, for reals — I'm not sure how true it is. While the wrap is certainly good for traveling — it's compact and doesn't wrinkle —- more often than not when I wear one I'm left feeling lumpy and exposed, and rather than striding around with liberating 1970s confidence, I find myself self-consciously tugging and adjusting the low neckline and skimpy skirt, and find that sitting down is an ordeal. Where, yes, a wrap works with curves, it also slides between breasts in a conspicuous fashion and the belt can cut in a way that's less than flattering to anyone with any flesh at all. What's more, a cami can spoil the line — not to mention show under the unforgiving jersey — and I've often been at the mercy of fashion tape, safety pins and even last-minute tacking. Theoretically wraps are adjustable and the jersey stretchy, but I find the typical dress dilemma —- if it fits in one place it's too small on top, or vice versa — to only be magnified in a wrap, where I've experienced both dangerously loose bodices and frumpily bagging skirts, both of which kind of defeat the alleged "easy sexiness" of the design.

The thing is, I love the cut of DVF's clothes (well, in dressing rooms, anyway) and her colorful textiles and she looks absolutely stunning in her creation. In theory, I still love it, and I've tried for years. But easy and flattering? Not in my experience. A-lines are easy. Structure is flattering. Wrap dresses, save for a lucky few, are an optimistic myth that we all love too much to give up, not least cause we've been told for so long that it was The Answer. What say you?

*Update: Someone v fashionable just sent me this possibly-invaluable tip: "The girls at DVF told me to wear it backwards - so you have a boatneck in front and a plunging v in the back. Way sexy and great for girls with boobs."

Dear DVF fans: What is it about that dress? [CNN]
Diane von Furstenberg On Wrap Dresses And The Joys Of Aging Gracefully [Huffington Post]

[Image via Huffington Post]