I often get comments from some of my foreign friends that they thought many Japanese people are thin. In this article, I will explain, give points, and arguments why a lot of Japanese people are thin. This will be based on my own opinion.
Eating habits
Prior reason is the eating habits. One of the major differences between the Japanese people and Westerners is that Japanese have a much clear image of “healthy eating” than foreigners. I think it is because the lunch they serve at school since we were children have a clear picture of healthy eating.
It is rare in the world to find a community of people who have learned from childhood, along with long-term experiences, what it means to have a menu prepared by a nutritionist that is balanced and planned in terms of nutrition.
We are taught about nutritional balance in school from an early age.Even as adults, there are many people who vaguely remember this and have developed the habit of incorporating it into their daily meals or are conscious of eating a balanced diet. I believe that the difference in our eating habits can be seen in whether or not we have a concrete image of what a healthy diet is.
In Japanese diet, the main meal, main dishes, and side dishes are served at once, so that you can know at a glance how much food you are consuming. On the other hand, in France and other Western countries, each dish is served in order e.g. appetizer, main course, and lastly dessert.
This makes it difficult to keep track of how much you are eating, and you tend to overeat. At drinking parties and gatherings in Europe and the United States, appetizers and main courses are served in the same order, but at drinking parties in Japanese pubs, each person eats from a large plate.
This makes it easier to control the amount of food you eat, and makes it easier to lose weight with an eight-ounce stomach.
Awareness
The next in line would be awareness. Compared to Westerners, the Japanese people are more body and health conscious. Combined with their serious temperament, they are more sensitive to health information than people in other countries, and phenomena such as products introduced on health information programs selling out the next day are not common overseas.
In Europe and the U.S., I get the impression that many people have a sense of values that prioritize “enjoying life” over doing something seriously good for their health. Since many people are interested in diet and health, many TV programs and magazines focus on this field, which leads to a virtuous cycle of increasing health consciousness that has taken root in Japanese society.
In Japan, there are many people who take yoga, dance classes, tennis, golf, etc. on their days off. Not all of them, of course, but this helps them stay healthy.
And in Japanese society, there is always an invisible pressure to be thin. Because of such an environment, people naturally become more concerned about maintaining their weight. Japanese women are very keen on dieting. They are sensitive to diet information and often talk about it. “They often talk about how they lost weight and became beautiful. This kind of attitude may also contribute to the low obesity rate in the country.
Means of transportation
Lastly, it would be the means of transportation that I consider. In Japan, people walk to the station, bus stop, school, or supermarket if it is close enough. Compared to the U.S., we naturally walk a lot. America, on the other hand, is a car society. Shopping and school are done by car.
This is partly due to security issues. There are some places in the U.S. that are not safe, so it is hard to walk in those places. In Japan, walking is more natural because of the environment.
Also, company employees in Japan have a relatively long daily commute time. In addition to the well-developed transportation system that transports large number of people, they spend 1-2 hours every day walking, taking the train, or riding a bicycle.
According to a past study in Japan, the longer the average commute, the lower the risk of developing disc disease. The reason for this is that the body unconsciously works out and burns more calories as it tries to keep its balance on the swaying train.
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