Women never needed "daily vigorous exercise" to look just fine. So many are obese because of their eating habits, not because they aren't hitting the gym. Up until recently, women were supposed to look soft and feminine rather than "hard," and few were fatties. By eating mostly healthy food and in moderate portions and getting exercise from life's daily routines -- walking around, going up and down stairs, doing chores, working at home or outside the home, running after the kids, etc. -- a woman could maintain her figure into middle age as long as she didn't overeat. Sexy women pre-hard body days -- think of Playboy models from the '50s through the '80s -- were more desirable than today's gym rats with their muscles, mannish jaws and rock-hard abs, other than their sprawling bushes. Trimming and/or shaving that area was a big improvement visually, the rest of the body changes typified by the "modern" woman, not so much.
