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Weight in Japan vs. US 2008/1/24 15:18
I've always heard that Japanese girls are shorter and thinner compared to Americans. What is the average weight of a Japanese girl who is 150 cm tall?

I'm an American that height, and I weigh 38 kg. People tell me I'm too thin, but there aren't very many girls my size here to whom I can compare myself.
by Ana  

weight in Japan 2008/1/24 17:05
About Japanese women,as found on the internet:
Among the women with height ranging 149 cm and less, 79% of the women have their waists in the range 56 cm to 58 cm and the weight is in the 35 to 39 kg range. In the 150 to 159 cm height group, the weight range is 40 to 45 kg and the average waist size is 61 cm. For the 160 to 164 cm height group, the weight range is wider with 97% of the women reporting it to be between 40 and 49 kg. However, among really tall Japanese women, that is 165 cm and higher, 86% of the women have their weight between 46 and 49 kg.
These statistics clearly show that Japanese women are obsessed about how slim they look. Compared to other oriental women, they might very well be overly slim already despite the fact that the younger generation may have a better body built than the previous generation. (Related article: Book review of "Why Japanese Women Don't Get Fat")
I find these weights on the very low side for a healthy person, and close to danger if the person isn't fit. What matter isn't so much the actual weight but rather how one look. There are quite a few women in my gyms (I work out in 3 different places) who are slim, with narrow waists, flat stomachs, shapely bodies, and they weight more than they look but nobody would guess it.

by Sensei 2 rate this post as useful

figure 2008/1/24 21:49
Sensei 2, are you sure you're not looking at statistics of cover girls or teen idols?? Because I'm a Japanese woman who belongs to one of those height groups and I KNOW that women my height struggle to fit into clothes that slim and then fail. The average is usually one size bigger (okay, I confess, I'm in my 40s, but still).

That said, back to the concern of the original poster, I don't think Ana will look too skinny or too small at all here in Japan. But I'd just like to mention that, while a lot of people, local and foreign, keep asking questions about "weights", I think what really matters is your "figure". A lot of non-Asians have slim faces and thin ankles which makes them look a lot skinnier and cooler than her actual weight. On the other hand, my son used to look really chubby, but his weight didn't even reach the average. He used to tell me he's made of Styrofoam :)
by Uco rate this post as useful

Wow 2008/1/24 22:03
83 pounds? Yeah you're small. Average for woman your height here in Japan is around 43-50kg or 94-110 pounds.
by MarineUSMC rate this post as useful

weight 2008/1/25 07:44
Uco,
I was rather surprised by the stats myself, as I find these weight much too low, but the article author said that she made an informal survey herself. Now, thinking about it, if she only asked people and didn't actually measure /weight them it is likely that the people answered with low numbers that they think are average, in a wishful thinking type of way. On the other hand we have quite a few young Japanese students of both sexes in the North American town where I live and both sexes are painfully thins. arms that are as thin and shapeless as a French baguette are for me a scary and unhealthy sight. By the way I was born in Europe and at the time we used to say that a person 1.50 m. tall should weight 50 KG, 60 kg. for 1.60, etc. As I said in my previous post weight isn't as important as the look. Fit muscular people have relatively small waists, pleasantly proportioned bodies, but often weight more than one think.
It would be nice if people exercised instead of going on unhealthy diets. I work in health care and in the past 4 years we got amazing results with older people that had trouble walking, sitting etc. after months of doing exercises with moderate weights (we have doctors, nutritionists, physiotherapists) they were able to do normal daily living activities without problems.
by Sensei 2 rate this post as useful

Very low BMI 2008/1/25 07:52
Under 40 kg at 150cm is below a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 17, which is considered by the World Health Organisation to be unhealthily underweight, even in Asian countries. A BMI of 18 is the border between underweight (not just thin, but too thin) and normal.

I'm wondering if it is a coincidence that the poster gave her name as "Ana"- "ana" is a commonly used abbreviation of "anorexia" on the internet, as in "pro-ana sites".
by Sira rate this post as useful

155cm 2008/1/25 17:36
I think average is around 155cm(and this will be seen as "short")
I am 156cm and 42kg.
I have many friends over 160cm and they are very thin
I think weight is becoming a big issue in Japan too.
So many girls have weight problems and still, want to be more skinny!
by Mimi rate this post as useful

research findings 2008/5/18 10:43
According to information that I found here:

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=14...

and here:

http://www.hiraganatimes.com/hp/scenes/kiji/kiji233-1e.html

In 2000 the average weight and height of Japanese women aged 15-19 was:

Metropolitan - 158.3cm/50.7Kg
Cities - 157.6cm/51.0Kg
Small towns - 157.6cm/51.9Kg

20-24 years old:

Metropolitan - 158.7cm/50.8Kg
Cities - 158.0cm/50.9Kg
Small towns - 157.6cm/51.4Kg

25-29 years old:

Metropolitan - 158.5cm/50.9Kg
Cities - 158.2cm/51.3Kg
Small towns - 157.5cm/52.1Kg

A survey result released in April, 2004 by Wacol stated that "the average Japanese woman in her 20's has a bust measuring 81.3 cm, waist measuring 64.7 cm and hip measuring 87.6 cm. Their average height is 158 cm and weight is 49.7 kg."

Since this survey was conducted in Tokyo I believe it's better to say that these are the measurements of the average Tokyo woman.

I hope all this information helps but I'd also like to offer my personal opinion.
I visited Japan for 3 weeks last year and I didn't find people in Tokyo to be particularly short. I'm 170cm tall (5'7'') and I didn't feel like I was that much taller than Japanese women. In fact I saw a few who were even taller than my boyfriend who's 183cm (6'). As I moved southwest people did seem to be shorter though.
As for weight, I weigh 52/53kg, and my measurements are 95-61-86 (37.5-24-34). If I compare myself to the data mentioned above it seems I'm significantly taller and thinner than the average Japanese woman. However, when walking around the streets in Japan I felt like I was only average-thin, although my breasts were obviously much, much bigger that 99.9% of the Japanese women I saw. Again, as I moved southwest people seemed to be a bit fuller than in Tokyo.
by Andromeda18_ rate this post as useful

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