Staple yes. Didn't really think of it as healthy, but you're right didn't think of it as unhealthy.
We did make our own jam growing up though, so ... there's that?
Either way, I'm way more conscious now as a nutrient nerd but I believe everyone else is... well, 'a little naive' to put it nicely.
And just to add to your point: an European with the same level of knowledge and curiosity (me, an overweight unhealthy European) would not think a PBJ is healthy at all. For me, at least the PB and the J sound like „basically pure sugar“. We make the same misjudgments about other foods, but it’s entirely learned behavior. What I mean is: these judgments are rarely objective, but always subjectively derived from learned behavior.
> For me, at least the PB and the J sound like „basically pure sugar“.
As a side note, there is good peanut butter that is just roasted peanuts and salt. It’s pretty damn healthy — much more balanced and healthier than most breads or jellies.
Here is one that is very common in the US:
https://www.costco.com/kirkland-signature-organic-peanut-but...
Example: I'd bet many people who are at least gen X grew up with PBJs as a staple food. It seems healthy enough: bread, peanut-butter, and a little jelly. However, today there's sugar added to the bread, sugar added to the peanut butter, and most certainly sugar added to the jelly, far beyond what it was when growing up.
If you aren't really careful when at the grocery store or making food from scratch, you can easily end up consuming a lot more sugar than you realize.