Why Americans are overweight vs the Japanese

Replies

  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,226 Member
    Well as far as #1 is concerned meh, the number of generalization just hit a new high. I suspect the rest of the article is the same writing style, but I didn't check.
  • Roadie2000
    Roadie2000 Posts: 1,801 Member
    In Japan, each person eating gets as many individual dishes as needed for the meal. Sometimes more than 10 dishes per person are used. In America, there is a method where a large bowl or dish is placed in the middle of the table, and you take as much as you like from there, and put it on a big dish said to be a "dinner plate."

    In Japan, meals at home are for eating, because your stomach is vacant. At an American’s dinner, there is food, decorations on the table and tableware, and music to produce a fun atmosphere. It is a time for maintaining rich human relationships. Therefore, the meal is as long as 40 minutes. In addition, often the decorative tableware has been handed down mother to daughter, two generations, three generations. In addition, there are even more valuable dishes used for Christmas and Thanksgiving.

    American food is flat to the taste, indifferent in the subtle difference of taste. There is no such thing there as a little “secret ingredient.” Sugar, salt, pepper, oils, and routine spices are used for family meals. There is no such thing as purely U.S. cuisine, except the hamburger, which isn’t made at home so much. There is almost nothing special to eat based on the different seasons of the year. Basically, they like sweet, high fat, high calories things.
    Very funny, they got a couple things right but none if it really explains why Americans are overweight.
  • shano25
    shano25 Posts: 233 Member
    So that's what it is.

    Actually I found #2 hilarious. I'm pretty sure a Japanese teenager wearing what they consider "hip hop" clothes aren't often mistaken for gang members in the US.
  • chubby_checkers
    chubby_checkers Posts: 2,352 Member
    I found the whole article amusing.
    Knowing how to use sarcasm is a must to communicate with an American.

    If you put your bent middle and index fingers of both hands in the air, you are making finger quotation marks. It means you do not believe what you are saying. You can also say, "or so called."

    Misleading title by the OP though.
  • QueenBishOTUniverse
    QueenBishOTUniverse Posts: 14,121 Member
    All in all I'd say this actually paints a very positive image of American culture. I agree about the food being bland though.
  • moobiieej
    moobiieej Posts: 12 Member
    The article was pretty interesting !
  • Slacker16
    Slacker16 Posts: 1,184 Member
    7. THEY TEND TO HORSE LAUGH, EVEN THE WOMEN. IT’S HOW THEY SHOW THEY’RE HONEST.
    I can confirm that laughing etiquette differs from culture to culture (you don't even need to go as far as Japan for that). Still find it weird to see people laughing with their mouth open. But none of it is all that related to obesity...
  • judyde
    judyde Posts: 401 Member
    I'm shocked at number 3 - we're good drivers??? That seems incredible.

    And #1 surprises me because I always thought Americans are known for eating fast. Maybe I'm thinking of European culture where the Italians and French are known for slow-paced, relaxing meal times. I feel like Americans just bolt down their food.
  • in_the_stars
    in_the_stars Posts: 1,395 Member
    Well as far as #1 is concerned meh, the number of generalization just hit a new high. I suspect the rest of the article is the same writing style, but I didn't check.

    Don't bother reading it. It just gets worse.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    My point though is that we put much more emphasis on food apparently as a social thing, than Japanese people do... For them it's just fuel. For us... not so much!
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,226 Member
    My point though is that we put much more emphasis on food apparently as a social thing, than Japanese people do... For them it's just fuel. For us... not so much!
    Why would you think that food is just fuel for the Japanese.....I've never other than this story have ever seen any evidence of that........quite the opposite actually.
  • ksuh999
    ksuh999 Posts: 543 Member
    My point though is that we put much more emphasis on food apparently as a social thing, than Japanese people do... For them it's just fuel. For us... not so much!
    No, this is utterly wrong. I read that insipid Mental Floss article a few days ago. Anyhow Japanese engage in social eating and especially drinking routinely.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    This has to be one of the most absurd things I've ever read...srsly...

    I do agree with number 6 though, and lots of MFPers could probably take that to heart...
    My point though is that we put much more emphasis on food apparently as a social thing, than Japanese people do... For them it's just fuel. For us... not so much!

    That's absolutely not true at all...if anything, it's really the opposite from my experience. Food is celebrated in Japan and those guys also know how to party.

    The reasons Americans are overweight vs the Japanese is overall dietary lifestyle and activity level. Japanese eat smaller portions of food in general...we value that bang for our buck so we get very large portions. Japanese tend to be relatively active just generally...walking, walking, and more walking and many companies how morning fitness routines, etc. Americans park as close to the gym as they possibly can so they don't have to walk too far to the front door so they can jump on a treadmill for 30 minutes.
  • in_the_stars
    in_the_stars Posts: 1,395 Member
    Are you Japanese?

    *question was meant for the original poster.
  • hallo_spacedog
    hallo_spacedog Posts: 40 Member
    The reasons Americans are overweight vs the Japanese is overall dietary lifestyle and activity level. Japanese eat smaller portions of food in general...we value that bang for our buck so we get very large portions. Japanese tend to be relatively active just generally...walking, walking, and more walking and many companies how morning fitness routines, etc. Americans park as close to the gym as they possibly can so they don't have to walk too far to the front door so they can jump on a treadmill for 30 minutes.

    This a million times this. Japanese love to eat like no ones business, and nowadays it's not all fish, etc. Lots of high fat, high carb, fried foods, most of which are insanely delicious. However, unlike here, the portions are much more reasonably sized. They love to drink too. But all of this is offset because most of them have to walk or bike a significant portion of the day. When I was living there, I would eat whatever and didn't gain a thing, because of how active I ended up being just going through my day.

    EDIT: oh, and the other thing: I'm not seeing where they linked to what they "translated" in that stupid mentalfloss article. Those links are generic etiquette info about differences but don't line up with the article itself.
    EDIT 2: another thing is that Japanese have a lot (like a LOT) of social pressure for both sexes but primarily women to be very slender. You might be surprised at the rate of anorexia/laxative abuse and the lack of awareness thereof in Japan. (I went to HS while in Japan.)
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
    five islands the land mass size of Montana and half our population; they bike and walk, we drive.....next caller....
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
    #3 is oh so wrong. People drive like crap.

    #9 is very true though. I haven't found a single place here I can buy used panties!
  • auria17
    auria17 Posts: 94 Member
    The most amount of centenarians(living over 100) per capita are also found in Okinawa Japan. Low amounts of animal consumption, high amounts of fish / seafood) (omega 3) and eating till they are only 80% full could be contributors to their long age and general good health. Many studies on how the people of this Island think differently and their elders are respected and consulted for their knowledge. In North American society once someone reaches a certain age it is almost as though we want them to be closeted away so we are not reminder of our mortality.
  • shelleytrickett
    shelleytrickett Posts: 11
    I think you are spot on with what you have said.In Japan the lifestyle is so different to most other places in the world.The parking is limited with parking fees being costly,even cars are so much more expensive to maintain that walking and biking are the main formsof ttransport ......I am hoping to live there within the next few years......I would love to hear of your experiences over there :-) xx
  • Carnivor0us
    Carnivor0us Posts: 1,752 Member
    The most amount of centenarians(living over 100) per capita are also found in Okinawa Japan. Low amounts of animal consumption, high amounts of fish / seafood) (omega 3) and eating till they are only 80% full could be contributors to their long age and general good health. Many studies on how the people of this Island think differently and their elders are respected and consulted for their knowledge. In North American society once someone reaches a certain age it is almost as though we want them to be closeted away so we are not reminder of our mortality.

    Fish and seafood are animals. Okinawans eat a lot of pork.
  • VBnotbitter
    VBnotbitter Posts: 820 Member
    Well every nation has generalisations and stereotypes about people of other nations. What are you first thoughts about Japan? I thought it was fairly positive and made you guys sound friendly and likeable.

    Bugger all to do with why one nation is more overweight than another though.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,226 Member
    The most amount of centenarians(living over 100) per capita are also found in Okinawa Japan. Low amounts of animal consumption, high amounts of fish / seafood) (omega 3) and eating till they are only 80% full could be contributors to their long age and general good health. Many studies on how the people of this Island think differently and their elders are respected and consulted for their knowledge. In North American society once someone reaches a certain age it is almost as though we want them to be closeted away so we are not reminder of our mortality.

    Fish and seafood are animals. Okinawans eat a lot of pork.
    And have traditionally used pork fat as their choice to cook with.
  • steeezo72
    steeezo72 Posts: 1
    In Japan, each person eating gets as many individual dishes as needed for the meal. Sometimes more than 10 dishes per person are used. In America, there is a method where a large bowl or dish is placed in the middle of the table, and you take as much as you like from there, and put it on a big dish said to be a "dinner plate."

    In Japan, meals at home are for eating, because your stomach is vacant. At an American’s dinner, there is food, decorations on the table and tableware, and music to produce a fun atmosphere. It is a time for maintaining rich human relationships. Therefore, the meal is as long as 40 minutes. In addition, often the decorative tableware has been handed down mother to daughter, two generations, three generations. In addition, there are even more valuable dishes used for Christmas and Thanksgiving.

    American food is flat to the taste, indifferent in the subtle difference of taste. There is no such thing there as a little “secret ingredient.” Sugar, salt, pepper, oils, and routine spices are used for family meals. There is no such thing as purely U.S. cuisine, except the hamburger, which isn’t made at home so much. There is almost nothing special to eat based on the different seasons of the year. Basically, they like sweet, high fat, high calories things.
    Very funny, they got a couple things right but none if it really explains why Americans are overweight.

    It says (in so many words) that Americans spend much more time at the table gorging themselves with huge portions of sugary, fatty foods. You must have missed that part.
  • Carnivor0us
    Carnivor0us Posts: 1,752 Member
    In Japan, each person eating gets as many individual dishes as needed for the meal. Sometimes more than 10 dishes per person are used. In America, there is a method where a large bowl or dish is placed in the middle of the table, and you take as much as you like from there, and put it on a big dish said to be a "dinner plate."

    In Japan, meals at home are for eating, because your stomach is vacant. At an American’s dinner, there is food, decorations on the table and tableware, and music to produce a fun atmosphere. It is a time for maintaining rich human relationships. Therefore, the meal is as long as 40 minutes. In addition, often the decorative tableware has been handed down mother to daughter, two generations, three generations. In addition, there are even more valuable dishes used for Christmas and Thanksgiving.

    American food is flat to the taste, indifferent in the subtle difference of taste. There is no such thing there as a little “secret ingredient.” Sugar, salt, pepper, oils, and routine spices are used for family meals. There is no such thing as purely U.S. cuisine, except the hamburger, which isn’t made at home so much. There is almost nothing special to eat based on the different seasons of the year. Basically, they like sweet, high fat, high calories things.
    Very funny, they got a couple things right but none if it really explains why Americans are overweight.

    It says (in so many words) that Americans spend much more time at the table gorging themselves with huge portions of sugary, fatty foods. You must have missed that part.

    It doesn't say that at all. It says Americans like high calorie, sugary and fatty foods. So do the Japanese. It doesn't say anything about gorging in that article.
  • SuperSexyDork
    SuperSexyDork Posts: 1,669 Member
    No, the Japanese are not generally overweight because their society values conformity. If you are overweight, you are not conforming to social standards and you are the focus of abject criticism.

    Thus the Japanese proverb, "Deru kui wa utareru." Literally: The stake that sticks up gets hammered down. Meaning: If you stand out, you will be subject to criticism.
  • Carnivor0us
    Carnivor0us Posts: 1,752 Member
    No, the Japanese are not generally overweight because their society values conformity. If you are overweight, you are not conforming to social standards and you are the focus of abject criticism.

    Thus the Japanese proverb, "Deru kui wa utareru." Literally: The stake that sticks up gets hammered down. Meaning: If you stand out, you will be subject to criticism.


    +1 billion
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,286 Member
    "At an American’s dinner, there is food, decorations on the table and tableware, and music to produce a fun atmosphere. It is a time for maintaining rich human relationships."

    Actually I think this is a universal trait of all cultures - food is used for social occasions (ie maintaining rich human relationships), there are decorations, there is music or background entertainment of some sort (story telling etc) to produce atmosphere
    There is table ware or cutlery or utensils of some sort.

    Now this doesn't apply to every single meal, of course - my wolfed down breakfast before work or a hunter gatherer's berries on the trail - but all cultures have family and social and ceremonial meals that meet above criteria, it is not a uniquely American thing at all.

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