I just got back from a 12 day trip to Japan and if there was one thing that resonated with me it was the fact that the vast majority of Japanese people are much, much thinner than their American counterparts. This should be in our interest, since we are a country that is growing in obesity and we cannot control it. Surprisingly many “skinny rules” seem not to apply to Japan, I guess they are right about everything being backwards in Japan. For example, rice is an important staple in the Japanese diet, they love cakes, and it’s almost a tradition for them to drink beer after work, even women, but surprisingly, they’re still skinny. Below I have listed 3 reasons why I feel the Japanese eat what they want and are still, overall, a sparse population.
1. Agricultural practices: In Japan, agricultural practices are very careful. Unlike the American food manufacturing industry, the Japanese tend to practice a more organic approach to growing food. They understand that while American-style manufacturing practices can produce more food in a shorter period of time, they also know that people and the environment will be negatively affected in the long run, so they try to keep agriculture as organic as possible. This is the opposite in America. Unless it’s marked and certified organic, you can almost assume that the food you’re eating is the worst version of it. Basically, the food in Japan will be in a more natural state than the food produced in America. This allows the body to use food for fuel much more efficiently than food that is genetically modified and laced with herbicides and pesticides.
2. Portion Control – Their portions are much smaller than the portions of their American counterparts. Basically they just eat less of everything they want compared to Americans who eat more of everything and then more to top it off. They do eat rice, but they do eat small rice balls, sometimes just that much for a full meal. They eat pastries but not donut boxes, they have one and their pastries aren’t huge and they settle for that. When we were in Japan, my husband’s friend ordered a hot dog while we were sitting in a cafe. The hot dog literally came with 5 chips. Not a bag of chips, just 5 pieces and he was fine with that (he’s Japanese). It is quite common to see 1 family sharing a meal, including the father. They would order a bowl of beef curry with rice, and the mom, dad, and child shared the entire meal. I’ve even seen them split a bowl of ramen, not because they’re trying to save money, just because they don’t live to eat, they eat to live.
3. They walk everywhere. They walk, they walk, they walk. Since most people use the train system, they are on a schedule. Even though we live busy lives in the United States, we still make time to drive to a restaurant, sit down, order appetizers, drinks, and a full meal with bread on the side. Not in Japan. They have just enough time to eat and do their train, so even if they eat a full dinner, they’re walking right after. From the morning until they come home at night, they walk, they move.
We can learn a lot from the Japanese in the way they view food. They socialize while eating, but do not make food the main topic of socialization. They make company and conversation the main focus. They care about portion control, so they can have what they want, but they just don’t have too much. They definitely do not live to eat. While they do enjoy their food, they rarely overindulge. They walk everywhere and are very weight conscious, did I forget to mention that? They really care if they are overweight. Many Americans feel that it is inevitable, the Japanese will try to avoid it by all means. Most of their farming practices are organic, so they are a step ahead of the Americans in that regard, but maybe one day we will.
