Japanese diet vs American diet

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WhisperAnne
WhisperAnne Posts: 453
in Food and Nutrition
It's a fact that America is a big country. And it's easier to get overweight here than in most other countries. I've been wondering..what if Americans went on a Japanese diet? Japan is one of the healthiest countries in the world. They eat a lo of fish veggies and rice and all maintain healthy weight. I'm subscribed to a couple on youtube who live in Japan and the wife is American and when she moved to Japan she lost 20 pounds without trying! so..yeah I would love to eat a Japanese diet. Would you?
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Replies

  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,978 Member
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    It's about overall lifestyle and not necessarily a specific diet.............all diets are better than the SAD diet, so your going to see improvement regardless. Americans would probably binge on tempura anyway and put mayo on everything. j/k
  • maryc91
    maryc91 Posts: 7 Member
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    it's all the GMO's American foods have!
  • tegalicious
    tegalicious Posts: 629
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    I have lived in Japan. It all boils down to calories in and calories out. People in Japan don't eat huge servings of food and are pretty active. The cities are fairly congested and people walk and bike a lot. It isn't necessarily the foods they eat that makes them have a healthy weight, it is the fact that they don't eat huge servings of food and don't sit around all day doing nothing while consuming huge portions of food.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    Be wary of claims like this. There's no way to know how many calories she was consuming in America vs how many calories she is now consuming in Japan. Also, it's possible her activity level increased. She may not have "tried" but her lifestyle still may have changed in enough ways to make a difference.
  • Poofy_Goodness
    Poofy_Goodness Posts: 229 Member
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    http://superfitdads.com/why-arent-japanese-people-fat/
  • jdaley90
    jdaley90 Posts: 259 Member
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    I have lived in Japan. It all boils down to calories in and calories out. People in Japan don't eat huge servings of food and are pretty active. The cities are fairly congested and people walk and bike a lot. It isn't necessarily the foods they eat that makes them have a healthy weight, it is the fact that they don't eat huge servings of food and don't sit around all day doing nothing while consuming huge portions of food.

    ^^^This. I used to live in China & it's the same story there.
  • tegalicious
    tegalicious Posts: 629
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    And seriously. I could eat an entire rice maker of rice in one sitting. And then some veggies on the side and some salmon too. Just because I am eating healthy Japanese style food doesn't mean I can't pack in 4000 calories in one meal.
  • Escloflowne
    Escloflowne Posts: 2,038 Member
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    it's all the GMO's American foods have!

    Hahaha I legitimately LOL
    tumblr_l6cioeun1F1qzyvbno1_400.gif


    It all has to do with portion control and education, guess which one Americans have too much and too little of when it comes to food!
  • Phaedra2014
    Phaedra2014 Posts: 1,254 Member
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    I lived in Europe for years. You don't see as many obese Europeans as you see obese Americans.

    1. No drive throughs for food, banks, pharmacies.

    2. People walk and use their bicycles to work as well as public transportation, which calls for more walking.

    3. Taking an after dinner stroll is normal.

    4. Food isn't as cheap as it is in the United States so you don't get a cheeseburger for a buck.

    5. People do not eat out as much, and when they do they prefer to eat at decent restaurants not fast food places.

    6. Families still cook meals at home.

    7. People don't live on an endless supply of candy and chips as they do here.

    8. I've never seen people eat a bag of chips with their lunch as people do in the U.S. It boggled my mind when I moved here and saw what a huge part of the day chips and cookies were.
  • lolagurlx0x0
    lolagurlx0x0 Posts: 149 Member
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    I also watched a youtube video about a baby (8 months old) brought here from japan and put on american food- DIED because of the additives and preservatives we put in our food. SOoooooo its not just about the "diet". And they also walk everywhere and use public transportation where the elderly, invalid and pregnant are the first seated and everyone else stands.
  • Phoenix_Warrior
    Phoenix_Warrior Posts: 1,633 Member
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    it's all the GMO's American foods have!

    Hahaha I legitimately LOL
    tumblr_l6cioeun1F1qzyvbno1_400.gif


    It all has to do with portion control and education, guess which one Americans have too much and too little of when it comes to food!

    ^I second the lol.
  • jasonpclement
    jasonpclement Posts: 146 Member
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    I agree. Its not what they eat, its how much they eat.


    Although indirectly, the type of food they eat might be more satisfying. Its really easy to overeat greasy foods, and sugary foods. Try eating 500 calories of white rice vs. 500 calories of Candy.

    Or 500 calories of white rice, vs. 500 calories of Pork Fried rice.

    I could easily slam 500 calories of candy in the blink of an eye.
  • SF2514
    SF2514 Posts: 794 Member
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    I agree with the portion and activity level thing. I cook a fair amount of Japanese food (authentic ingredients) and if I were to eat it in "American" proportions a lot of it would be just as unhealthy as any fast food burger.
  • Phoenix_Warrior
    Phoenix_Warrior Posts: 1,633 Member
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    I also watched a youtube video about a baby (8 months old) brought here from japan and put on american food- DIED because of the additives and preservatives we put in our food. SOoooooo its not just about the "diet". And they also walk everywhere and use public transportation where the elderly, invalid and pregnant are the first seated and everyone else stands.

    What? I always believe everything I watch on YouTube. ..
  • tegalicious
    tegalicious Posts: 629
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    I also watched a youtube video about a baby (8 months old) brought here from japan and put on american food- DIED because of the additives and preservatives we put in our food.

    Ummm.... Most 8 month olds are still eating pureed fruits and veggies. Not McDonalds hamburgers.
  • lynnmhatcher
    lynnmhatcher Posts: 21 Member
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    I agree, friends of mine from Guam eat smaller amounts and no junk they are small people. Life style is very important. When I move more and eat healthy I lose no matter where I am. Keeping my Head in that mode is the problem!
  • silver_arrow3
    silver_arrow3 Posts: 1,373 Member
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    I also watched a youtube video about a baby (8 months old) brought here from japan and put on american food- DIED because of the additives and preservatives we put in our food. SOoooooo its not just about the "diet". And they also walk everywhere and use public transportation where the elderly, invalid and pregnant are the first seated and everyone else stands.

    facepalm
  • tegalicious
    tegalicious Posts: 629
    Options
    I also watched a youtube video about a baby (8 months old) brought here from japan and put on american food- DIED because of the additives and preservatives we put in our food. SOoooooo its not just about the "diet". And they also walk everywhere and use public transportation where the elderly, invalid and pregnant are the first seated and everyone else stands.

    facepalm

    Glad I'm not the only one who had that reaction...
  • SyntonicGarden
    SyntonicGarden Posts: 944 Member
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    I have lived in Japan. It all boils down to calories in and calories out. People in Japan don't eat huge servings of food and are pretty active. The cities are fairly congested and people walk and bike a lot. It isn't necessarily the foods they eat that makes them have a healthy weight, it is the fact that they don't eat huge servings of food and don't sit around all day doing nothing while consuming huge portions of food.

    Having also been to Japan, what we Americans consider a normal portion is usually closer to what the sumo wrestlers eat and yeah, there's a lot more movement. Bicycles were everywhere where I visited. Things like apartments are also smaller, so being "larger" simply doesn't seem to be conducive to their culture.

    That, and my experience is that cultures like Japanese (and Chinese) are usually more vocally critical about weight. It's not taboo to comment on it as if you were commenting on a pair of shoes. My Italian relatives tell me I'm too skinny and that I need to eat more. A Chinese relative told me "how fat" I'd gotten (20 lb gain) since last time he'd seen me. ;)

    So, yeah, I think it's a combination of the portions AND the culture. ;)
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,978 Member
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    I also watched a youtube video about a baby (8 months old) brought here from japan and put on american food- DIED because of the additives and preservatives we put in our food. SOoooooo its not just about the "diet". And they also walk everywhere and use public transportation where the elderly, invalid and pregnant are the first seated and everyone else stands.

    facepalm

    Glad I'm not the only one who had that reaction...
    Good thing I'm not an 8 month old baby. lol

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