Why Aren't Japanese People Fat?

LaurenAOK

Finally got the page to work... great article, thanks for sharing!

LAW_714

It's not a mystery, really.

- They traditionally eat a lot of fish and rice.
- They don't eat a lot of wheat, bread, or sugar.
- They have smaller portion sizes.

There's your answer.

(Though statistically, with the rise of sugared drinks in the country, the average weight has been rising... just like everywhere else).

homerjspartan

To try and follow up on this research I Googled "Obese Japanese"...... some very interesting websites. Apparently anyone who is overweight in Japan works in the adult film industry.

mojohowitz

Godzilla [ɡodʑiɽa] has eaten most of them because they stick out and are slow.



Edit after actually reading article.

Greenrun99

They eat better and less food than we do
They exercise more than we do, and use walking/public transportation way more (some companies have mandatory exercise hour in the morning)
Its shameful on them to be fat and overweight

All of which Americans do the opposite of.

Contrarian

Don't they ride bikes alot and walk everywhere?

You are thinking of China. Maybe you should read the article and stop making wild guesses! :laugh:

Melissa22G

That implies it is a choice. I couldn't be Japanese even if I chose to be. Unfair. Now I am stuck being fat.

We're too southern.

LOL! I'm with Hoss on Southern food, and that's really the point. Eat your fried chicken, peach cobbler, and ribs. Just eat less.

Hoss and I are both from GA, as he just posted on my wall "We fry our sushi" LOL

magerum

There is no fat in there food

Fat doesn't make you fat.

cmcollins001

It's not a mystery, really.

- They traditionally eat a lot of fish and rice.
- They don't eat a lot of wheat, bread, or sugar.
- They have smaller portion sizes.

There's your answer.

(Though statistically, with the rise of sugared drinks in the country, the average weight has been rising... just like everywhere else).

I'm going to assume you didn't even read the article.

BeachIron

They eat better and less food than we do
They exercise more than we do, and use walking/public transportation way more (some companies have mandatory exercise hour in the morning)
Its shameful on them to be fat and overweight

All of which Americans do the opposite of.

You missed the point if you still think they eat "better."

downsizinghoss

It's not a mystery, really.

- They traditionally eat a lot of fish and rice.
- They don't eat a lot of wheat, bread, or sugar.
- They have smaller portion sizes.

There's your answer.

(Though statistically, with the rise of sugared drinks in the country, the average weight has been rising... just like everywhere else).

sorta skipped the whole thing there, didn't ya?

cwolfman13

Good read....

And you can extrapolate that out to other countries and regions as well. I'm reasonably well traveled and I can say that only the UK, in my experience, rivals the U.S. in portion size. Pretty much everywhere else I've ever been...and especially the Caribbean, Central America, and South American countries...you go out to eat or something and the portion is actually a portion...you get a serving. U.S. and UK seem to be about 2-3 servings equivalent on the plate.

LAW_714

I'm going to assume you didn't even read the article.

Was I 'required' to?

(And was I wrong and it's NOT portion sizes and food choices? Are they supposedly magic?)

ETA: Looked at article. It's a bunch of pictures taken in grocery stores. That's not exactly statistical breakdown of relative consumption of items. That's pictures in a grocery store showing that -- duh -- food items are available in Japan! (We all knew that, didn't we?)

That doesn't tell you anything about the relative levels of consumption of a specific substance. There are actual studies that do.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/diets-of-world-japanese-diet
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=sugar consumption per capita in USA and Japan

For example...

Sugar Consumption Per Capita:
U.S. - 152.1 lbs per person per year
Japan - 66.78 lbs per person per year


So, again, it's not a mystery.

BeachIron

It's not a mystery, really.

- They traditionally eat a lot of fish and rice.
- They don't eat a lot of wheat, bread, or sugar.
- They have smaller portion sizes.

There's your answer.

(Though statistically, with the rise of sugared drinks in the country, the average weight has been rising... just like everywhere else).

Thank you for posting without reading the article.

downsizinghoss

Also compression. They cram most of them on a subway everyday. It is like a communal wrap.

toaster6

Its a cultural thing. Among my friends, Asians are the only people who will greet me hello, and then in the same breath comment on how I'm getting fat. They don't say it to be rude like you'd expect, more that like 'hey you should be careful'.

*source: I'm half Chinese*

Yup, yup yup. And I will say that in Asian countries, it's a pain in the *kitten* to be fat. My aunt lives in Thailand and has hypothyroidism so she is something like an American size 18, maybe a 20. There are no stores that sell clothes that fit her so she has to have clothing custom made (like for her job, which requires a uniform) or she buys clothes here in America when she visits.

JaneDough_

They exercise with poodles.

Contrarian

I'm going to assume you didn't even read the article.

Was I 'required' to?

(And was I wrong and it's NOT portion sizes and food choices?)

You weren't required to, but yes, you were wrong. That's how everyone knew you didn't read it.

larsensue

bump for later...