An aspect of this that always strikes me is 1940's or 1950's actors. They lived through the depression, where protein was a rarer commodity. Childhood diseases that we now have forgotten. Their frames are small, but their heads are normal sized.

Then, suddenly, a decade later, the men who are actors are all strapping young guys, fit and healthy.

It reminds of me of WWII era japanese, who, a decade or three earlier, had also been protein-starved. Their height and frames reflected this.

All this to say that while we see the downsides, the green revolution also had its health upsides, I guess.