Why Japanese Don't Get Fat

1764 Words8 Pages
Christine Piper uncovers the lifestyle choices and cultural practices that make the population of Japan one of the slimmest – and healthiest – in the world. Japanese women don't get fat. It's a cliché, but it's true. Japan's obesity rate (defined as having a BMI of 30 or more) of just 3.9 per cent is, after South Korea, the second-lowest in the developed world. It's a statistic that puts Australia's burgeoning obesity rate of 21.7 per cent to shame. Indeed, Australia is the fifth-fattest nation in the world, lumbering behind the US, Mexico, the UK and Greece. As though to put another nail in our coffin, Japanese people have the lowest rate of heart disease and enjoy the longest life expectancy in the world, too. As a nation, they have an average life expectancy of 82.4 years, rising to 86 years for women alone. Just like the great French paradox, Japan's citizens enjoy a healthy outlook that's second to none, and seemingly without shirking on life's pleasures. It's a phenomenon I've seen first-hand. As a former English teacher working in Tokyo, I remember marvelling at the trim, taut bodies of all the women around me, only to be surprised when I witnessed the same pint-sized women tucking into foot-high mounds of rice, flocking to all-you-can-eat buffet restaurants and eagerly helping themselves to the dessert tray. It's a nation that has spawned a worldwide obsession with sushi and spearheaded the macrobiotic food movement, while its individuals repeatedly win world hot-dog eating competitions and its TV channels are filled with a staggering 90 or so cooking programs that are aired each week, morning noon and night.
 So, inspired by my svelte Japanese friends who seemed to eat and drink to their heart's content, I decided to turn sleuth and uncover the secrets of my Asian sisters, and in doing so find the answer to the nagging question: why don't Japanese
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