Why Aren't Japanese People Fat?

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  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
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    It can be the way eat and exercise and stuff, but I strongly believe it's their genetics. DNA is very sensitive and diet has a huge impact on our internal structure. The food that has been processed so much and GMO and fast food, I believe, messed up our genetics over the past decades. America wasn't always known as being fat.

    :huh: I would be looking at the change in lifestyles and habits waaaay before I would be looking at evolution for cause & effect here.
  • blackgirlfit
    blackgirlfit Posts: 120 Member
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    im sure it was already said, but they literally walk everywhere. they walk over 10,000 steps just to work and back. and an additional 10,000 probably doing leisure activities.


    when my bf goes back to his island country to work, he usually walks to and from work. his diet remains the same as here.. usually pasta and what not. but when he comes back the fat is just melted off of him!
  • jen_zz
    jen_zz Posts: 1,011 Member
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    We have relatives from France, when they come to visit, kiss on both sides accompanied by 'you're getting fat' :laugh: :laugh: They really don't mean it rudely. They eat as I eat now, rich small portions, walk everywhere, none of that non-fat, low calorie BS.

    I'm of mixed Chinese, Indian, and European descent. None of my relatives from Trinidad have a problem with mentioning a little extra weight, poking your belly like you're the pilsbury dough boy, or telling you you MUST be doin' good cause look at how you much SIZE she puttin on boi?! :huh:

    :laugh: :laugh: yup belly poking, or squeezing of bat wings are not uncommon!
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
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    I work in a Japanese company. There are lots and lots of overweight Japanese people.

    LOL! Have you been to Japan?
  • HappyElizabeth
    HappyElizabeth Posts: 231 Member
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    I always knew that Hello Kitty ate daintier portion sizes than Garfield.
  • bio_fit
    bio_fit Posts: 307 Member
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    1 word, 2 syllables : Kung Fu. That's why.

    Wrong country... and that's definitely two words. :bigsmile:
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
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    Just to mix it up a little.

    It would seem that the article makes a strong argument that less calories is more important than food choice if you don't want to be fat.

    Unfortunately you could just as easily have the argument that Japan's culture of eating small portions of nutritionally poor food, whilst keeping them skinny, actually leaves them 'skinny fat' (I hate the saying too but you guys will know what I mean!!) with a propensity for osteoporosis and rickets.

    So shouldn't we 'ideally' be comparing diets with the healthiest nations rather than the skinniest one's and, if we do, is their success down to calorie intake or food choice or activity level etc

    Could it be that (in a horribly oversimplified way)

    Less calories = slimmer
    Macro management = healthier
    Exercise = fitter

    Pick your favourite combination!!

    This article is in no way arguing that the Japanese have the ideal diet, and if you read it you'll see that it's pretty much the opposite. That is the point. It is a counter to those that want to put up certain national diets as the end all be all to why certain nations are fat and others are not. The entire point is that fewer calories = lower weight.

    The article and my post also weren't meant to criticize the Japanese diet or the Japanese. They clearly have figured out a very important lesson, and when you compare their health statistics to other wealthy nations, they come out quite well. Simply not being fat goes a long way towards making people healthier.

    After several years of living there it became very hard to rationalize why I wasn't eating white rice, or worried about getting my meals perfect. I couldn't even bring myself to argue such silliness when I was out with Japanese friends drinking into the wee hours of the night and slurping down ramen as the sun came up. None of these guys were anywhere near fat, and several were in rather good shape. The issue comes in missing the obvious (fewer calories, and yes, moving more). And no, the Japanese are not afraid to point out that "foreigners" are fatter and frankly I can't blame them. You can only hear so many times about how white rice is going to kill you before pointing out the obvious.

    All of that said, yes, building and maintain muscle mass is an entirely different issue.
  • grandevampire
    grandevampire Posts: 242
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    I always knew that Hello Kitty ate daintier portion sizes than Garfield.

    Yet she's still a bit pear shaped. She could do to start lifting to get her fitness up to scratch!
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
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    This is a good discussion.

    Never been there so I can't comment on that.

    But in line with the cultural thing, perhaps there is a difference with how weight control is approached; Americans are very prone to diet fads and nutritional nonsense. I mean, how many American's actually believe that simply eating smaller portions of what they are currently eating will cause them to lose weight? I would wager that in fact only a minority believes that.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    Never been there either but I believe the article is spot on... It's all about society. Same society that made it so there was no looting whatsoever during the tsunami. They're different from us (which is not necessarily a good thing either). I can totally see how it would not be acceptable to be fat in Japan.
  • kcoftx
    kcoftx Posts: 765 Member
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    okinawan diet

    "Their overall traditional diet would be considered a very-high-carbohydrate diet by modern standards, with carbohydrates, protein, and fat providing 85%, 9% and 6% of total calories respectively.["


    I actually GAINED weight when I moved to Okinawa. :laugh:
    This is actually common among my American friends that move there.

    The real culprit?

    I quit my more active job. (Ie, moved less)
    I went on vacation mode (I ear much less when I'm stressed and I used the vacation mode to routinely over indulge especially with drinks)

    Once I got over the newness of the place, I maintained. (I still ate and drank but started enjoying water activities)
    Once I went back to both watching what I was eating and moving more, I lost the weight. Who knew.

    As for portions, it is true they have smaller portions overall.

    p.S. Where are he freaking vegetables? I mean the ons not covered by tempura? Sight over exaggeration here but not by much.
  • ktliu
    ktliu Posts: 334 Member
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    There is a whole culture of calorie low but nutrient dense food built in the repertoire of the culture.like seaweed and tofu is very high in nutrient and protein. Also fish being the main protein sources is a lot lighter than red meat. The culture does not advocate frying rather than boiling meat in broth and stir fry.
    And I'm Chinese not Japanese, but we share a lot of the same dietary items. And the reason I'm on MFP is because of the Texas meat culture. LOL NOM NOM NOM....
  • CookNLift
    CookNLift Posts: 3,660 Member
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    1 word, 2 syllables : Kung Fu. That's why.

    Wrong country... and that's definitely two words. :bigsmile:

    LMAO I meant to type Karate, but one of my co-workers mentioned kung fu while I was typing and i didn't even realize hahaha
  • Lovdiamnd
    Lovdiamnd Posts: 624 Member
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    1 word, 2 syllables : Kung Fu. That's why.

    Wrong country... and that's definitely two words. :bigsmile:

    LMAO I meant to type Karate, but one of my co-workers mentioned kung fu while I was typing and i didn't even realize hahaha

    That was cute. :flowerforyou:
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
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    I have nothing to add to this thread other than it reminded me of okonomiyaki.

    Apparently there are not one, but two, okonomiyaki restaurants which I can easily get to and I intend to eat at one in the interests of science.

    For science I say!
  • BeachGingerOnTheRocks
    BeachGingerOnTheRocks Posts: 3,927 Member
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    This is a good discussion.

    Never been there so I can't comment on that.

    But in line with the cultural thing, perhaps there is a difference with how weight control is approached; Americans are very prone to diet fads and nutritional nonsense. I mean, how many American's actually believe that simply eating smaller portions of what they are currently eating will cause them to lose weight? I would wager that in fact only a minority believes that.

    Actually, fad dieting is a bigger problem over there. There's more stigma with being fat, and women encourage each other to diet down to sometimes unhealthy weights. Most of the infomercials are diet fads. Not workout videos, but puddings and pills and powders and magic placenta solutions, and belly fat zappers and vibrating arm bands.....

    It's a completely different culture than we are used to in the West. It's very hard to compare the two. They don't understand our adherence to lean meats and micronutrients when we work on fitness, and we don't understand their adherence to A5 kobe (think big slab of fat) and white rice when they are already thin.
  • casy84
    casy84 Posts: 290 Member
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    Awesome link, thank you. In my opinion also the french are the same. They put cheese on everything and yet they are stick thin. The only chubby people I saw there were the tourists.
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
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    We have relatives from France, when they come to visit, kiss on both sides accompanied by 'you're getting fat' :laugh: :laugh: They really don't mean it rudely. They eat as I eat now, rich small portions, walk everywhere, none of that non-fat, low calorie BS.

    I'm of mixed Chinese, Indian, and European descent. None of my relatives from Trinidad have a problem with mentioning a little extra weight, poking your belly like you're the pilsbury dough boy, or telling you you MUST be doin' good cause look at how you much SIZE she puttin on boi?! :huh:

    :laugh: :laugh: yup belly poking, or squeezing of bat wings are not uncommon!

    blech. I forgot about the bat wings squeeze.
    Sigh. My auntie just poked my belly last week, I was mortified.
  • hollyk57
    hollyk57 Posts: 520 Member
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    Interesting read - thanks! :)
  • MrsDanner78
    MrsDanner78 Posts: 107
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    don't forget their overcomplicated eating processes!

    4290954_o.gif

    Tee hee!!

    I love when people comment without even reading the article that you posted about. :ohwell:

    The article makes good points, as do a lot of other posters here. Smaller portion sizes = less calories = less fat. But obviously smaller portion sizes is NOT equal to healthier. It all depends on what the nutritional density is of the food being eaten. It may be socially unacceptable to be overweight in Japan, but unfortunately that way of thinking is already beginning to decrease in popularity as they, like the rest of the world, become Westernized in their thinking of food. Fat Japanese are coming... just wait a generation or two. LOL

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