Studies in Asian diets & nutrition

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Oceanborn2
Oceanborn2 Posts: 16 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've been Googling this for a while but I'm not coming up with too much useful information. Are there any good books or links to studies out there about this stuff, particularly the Japanese?

I've looked at the daily caloric intake of Japan and it varies depending on which site you're looking at, but 2800 calories seems to be the average daily caloric intake. At 2800 calories, with their really slim bodies and with their short height, 2800 just doesn't seem right, and I don't think they're burning THAT many calories just walking to and from work.

There's gotta be something going on here so that's why I'm curious.

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  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
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    First, just to state the obvious, Japan's culinary and dietary norms are considerably different from many other regions of Asia. It would be like discussing "European diets" where there is a considerable range between Mediterranean and northern European dietary customs.

    I think the 2800 kcal figure you have from Japan comes from the UN Food Balance Sheets data, which is actually the per capita *supply*. Consumption can be significantly less due to waste, spoilage, etc.

    Let's just take the chart at this URL for comparison, since it comes close to your 2800 kcal figure, and it derives from the UN data: http://chartsbin.com/view/1150

    That 2800 kcal figure is only slightly higher than the world average, and significantly less than the Developed Countries average of 3420 kcal/day. The US daily per capita supply, in comparison, is 3770/day.

    Also, on average, the Japanese people consume much more of their calories from vegetables, lean protein (especially fish and seafood), soy and rice compared to the US. Portion sizes tend to be smaller, and sweetened soft drinks are consumed less frequently. Processed wheat and sugars are used more sparingly.

    Again, these are broad generalities. If you travelled from Okinawa to Hokkaido you'd find as much or more regional variation as going from New York to Los Angeles. And, if you went to Korea and told them they were just like the Japanese, well....that's another article entirely...

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