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oh BOTHER! 2008/5/27 16:03
Thank you so much SIRA, I am so sick of all these people for whom Western = America only! don't you guys know about the rest of the WESTERN WORLD? by the way, to be fair not all Americans are obese!
by Red Frog rate this post as useful

Have courage, discover Japanese cuisine 2008/5/29 02:11
The secret of Japanese slimness is not in excercise but in the rich variety of food we eat. I say this and I don't give reason for genetic difference because Japanese who live in the west(especially US, no denying...) countries are differently ''shaped'' than the mainland Japanese. It is mainly the cuisine.

I am sure if you come form the Americas or Europe that you often ask the question, ''what's this?'' when eating Japanese meals. Japanese people on the other hand don't really need to ask that question when going to these countries, in part because they are already used to seeing them, but mostly because it is obvious the way they are cooked. 1)Limited number of types of meat and vegetables used and 2) limited ways of cooking, mostly fried with sauce(or boiled).

If you agree that the meals are the main reason for being slim(if you disagree, there is no need to read ahead), why not introduce Japanese cuisine to your line of things you eat?

It may be difficult to get used to eating things you have never seen or things you would never consider eating, but you will gradually develop a taste you never realized before and see that there is subtle difference in various types of food and definitely enrichen your life. Afterall, we all have to eat something everyday! So why not make it more interesting?

Opening up your mind and the more adventurous will see a new world. This may be challenging at first, but if you change the way you approach it and think of it as a broadening your horizons, it could be fun, don't you think? Just by doing this, you should see that there is a reasonable amount of weight loss(without doing any tough excercise nor eating only apples the whole day).

If you agree, have the courage to try discover the world of the Japanese cuisine.

If you don't, well what can I say? Good luck.
by Kaz rate this post as useful

260 lbs for 5 ft 7 inches? 2008/5/29 02:34
How can you say that some who is 260 lbs for 5 ft 7 inches is not obese??????
By any medical definition, that person is obese.
The problem is that we in "western" society have come to accept overweight as normal. I'm 5'9", when I weighed 209 pounds I thought I was normal until I realized that at only 35 years old I should not be on 3 maintenance drugs for weight related conditions. I adopted a diet closer to what my J-girlfriend (now my wife) cooked & ate. I lost 60 pounds. I feel great and am healthy, which is normal! Being 5'9" & 209 pounds may have become socially acceptable but it is not "normal" or healthy. We in the USA really need to have a reality check about our lifestyles and eating habits.
by c rate this post as useful

260 lb = sumo wrestler 2008/5/29 08:18
I have to agree with c. even though I am aware BMI is not terribly accurate, a woman being 260 pounds at 5'7" suggests a very high body fat percentage.

some of the smaller top division sumo wrestlers (Ama for example) weigh about 260 pounds and there is a huge amount of muscle on those guys, plus they are all still over 6'0" tall, but they still have some fat on them, so a non sumo wrestler 5'7" woman at 260 lb just has to be very overweight, and probably to a point where it is affecting her health.

by lauren rate this post as useful

the weather 2008/5/29 15:41
It also have something with the weather except the food. Just as you will eat a lot in winter and have less in summer! That is my opinion
by chinablueangel rate this post as useful

eat balanced 2008/5/31 20:20
Japanese are slim as factors are DNA (Asian are in general slim), they walk quite a lot, they use bike (especially women, excellent exercise), they take small portions vs western (especially US). If you follow this (except DNA !) you gonna loose weight. But the more important is to eat balanced. To this end, I am not convinced that Japanese have a balanced nutrition (they rarely eat fresh fruits).
by placebo rate this post as useful

this or that 2008/6/1 03:56
I didn't say that my friend who is 260 lbs for 5 ft 7 inches is not obese. SHE and many people like her feel that they are normal. I did say that at work--in a health care facility--we don't use the expression "morbidly obese" when talking to staff and patients that are indeed morbidly obese because it doesn't help them at all. All it does is upset them, insult them and make them refuse any help. They cannot look at themselves objectively--who does?-- and do not all eat too much food. Indeed I eat a bigger volume of food than her and other heavy colleagues --but my food is light in calories. At any rate to make someone accept that the/ she has a problem and should do something about it, be it obesity or drinking or gambling etc. one cannot be judgmental but supportive.
I can't remember if I said in my previous post that our staff comes from all around the world: Europe, Middle east, Africa, Asia, South-east Asia, South America and of course North America where we all live and work. 90% of us have no weight problem YET we all eat different diets, based on our native cultures, so it is not the type of food that keep us slim but the (limited) amount that we eat, along with an avoidance of sugars, deep fried foods, artificial foods like soft drinks etc. I am just back from a short trip to the USA and at every meal we left 1/2 the food on our plates, much to the concern of the staff who at first worried that we didn't like the food then wanted us to take the leftovers back to the hotel room for a snack.
by Auntie Bert rate this post as useful

hara hachi bu 2008/7/4 08:26
a)They eat alot less and healthier in general. presentation is more important then quantity.
b) Exercise more like bicycling walking.
c) They have the genetics
d) Many young people (boys and girls) are obsessed with fashion and dieting. many young men especially.
e) You've obviously never been to japan because there are alott of overweight japanese people.
by joe rate this post as useful

the heat 2008/7/9 06:52
my short answer would be the humidity and heat. The times i visited Japan it was so hot, i couldnt eat for some reason or another or eat a lot. It happened too in Vietnam but it could just be me.
by ktran rate this post as useful

why so slim 2008/9/4 22:22
here is what I think:
1) Japanese lifestyle is meant to burn calories: - the traditional sitting style, traditional greeting style, and sleeping on floor. Getting up and sitting again like Japanese do burns calories, whether you are in a Jinja, Tempel, suupaa, visit someone or greet a neighbour the traditional bow, which is done several times, is a calorie burner. Sleeping on futon, requires that you take it out of oshire, make your bed, and next morning put it away again in the oshire, burns calories.
2) traditional Japanese drink: sake burns calories. beer makes beer belly. Japanese eat whole lot of fried stuff also but it really doesnt matter, since with sake you must eat high calorie food.
3) I dont find as many escalators in Japan as in the West. I find myself climbing stairs more often than in the West.
4)Climate: the long summer: this type of climate is a calorie burner, in colder regions populations tend to put on weight.
5) obesity seems to be a problem of a minority, which is basically hidden, i.e. I dont see any obese citizens during rush hours, but only at non-rush hours.
6)being slim seems to be virtue in Japan, citizens seem to be very concious about it, specially the working population. Seats are not meant for obese people, but for slender or slim or normal weights.
7)Genetic and racial factor: Japanese and other Asian or South Asian populations are not obese by nature.
by slender rate this post as useful

FAT 2008/9/5 05:09
"slender" in the post above makes some good points butfor the last one. Europeans aren't obese by nature either. Even though in the past 30 years the weight of many of them has crept up there are still few morbidly obese people (over 300lbs!)as in the USA. I have been living in North America for years now and my colleagues born there tell me that until the 1960s-70s truly obese people were a rarity. Since then food and drinks portions have drastically increased and many people use a car to go anywhere, even a block away. These are the culprits, not genetics or special food. By the way "western" people--in Europe for example--don't deep fry or boil all their food! they saute it(like stir fry) with little oil, or steam it, grill it, bake it etc. and do not pour rich sauces all over it either.
by Red frog rate this post as useful

I'm going to say exercise 2008/9/5 05:38
I'm a Japanese person living in the United States. I am not "skinny" by any means. However, whenever I visit Japan, I manage to lose weight without changing my eating habits. I attribute this to the fact that I tend to walk everywhere that I can instead of driving a car. I walk to the train station, and climb up and down the stairs. I walk all over Tokyo. It's walk, train, walk, train. I took a gaijin friend and even though he pigged out on Japanese cuisine, he lost 10 pounds. We walked quite a bit.
by Aki rate this post as useful

why so slim continued 2008/9/6 10:49
8)Japanese enjoy sauna and hot bath quite often, which burns calories.
by slender rate this post as useful

lifestyle 2008/9/8 00:49
It is definitely a lifestyle difference. My wife and I have both lost a lot of weight in Japan. We were in good shape in the US but we are both a lot slimmer and healthier even after just 5 months here.

There is a lot to be said for the weather. During the summer it is so hot and humid we really don't feel like eating a ton of food.

Moreover, our meals tend to consist of a bunch of small dishes... I have found that if you have a rich assortment of flavors, you tend to not need to eat as much to feel satisfied.

Finally, there is a lot of natural exercise to be had in Japan, just by going about your daily life. A lot of walking to and from subway stations, up stairs, etc. There are also plenty of opportunities to ride a bike.

In the US I had to work out constantly to keep in shape. In Japan, I don't even really watch what I eat and am able to get by with just jogging a couple times a week (mostly to strengthen my lungs and for the cardio benefits) and attending jujutsu class for a couple hours on Saturdays. Other than that, all my exercise is natural stuff like taking by bike to work instead of the subway.
by al rate this post as useful

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