The move to wider and lower-pressure tires seems to have tracked with cyclists getting older and heavier, in the US, anyway. The narrower tires were in common use on more expensive road bikes from the '70s to the early '2000s or so here in the US (when all riders were younger and most were lighter) because that's what European racers used.
At 115 to 120 pounds, I'm about 20 pounds lighter at age 71 than I was at my prime racing weight, but I now use 25s or (mostly) 28s on my road bikes and 32s on my hybrid bike. Far fewer flats than with 23s, and the tires last longer. I don't notice any difference in comfort, but then I've never understood the whole "comfort" thing for bikes. Two sets of tape on the bars, and I'm good.