Victorians, who lived modestly and worked up to 60 hours per week, were found to be healthier than we are. They had way healthier diet consists of more nutrient-rich food and far less sugar and processed food.
As such, they were "90% less likely to develop cancer, dementia and coronary artery disease than we are today" said Dr Paul Clayton, one of the authors of the "How the Mid-Victorians Worked, Ate and Died", a study published in the Royal Society of Medicine.
According to the study, a typical Victorian breakfast was consisted of stoneground bread and a large bunch of watercress. For the rest of the day, they would eat cheap, seasonal vegetables and fruits. They also ate lots of healthy, fibre-rich nuts, which were often roasted and bought from street-corner sellers. As meat was relatively expensive back in the days, they regularly ate omega-3-rich oily fish and seafood. Herrings, sprats, eels, oysters, mussels, cockles and whelks, were all popular, as were cod and haddock.
The combination of a healthy diet with enormous amount of physical activity meant that Victorians suffered less from chronic, degenerative diseases than we do.