Okinawa Crisis, More Obese Japanese, Japanese diet under threat
Most stereotypes of Japanese people do not picture them as fat or even obese. However, this is changing fast as the Japanese are quickly adopting a Westernised diet and lifestyle. It’s difficult to imagine any town in Japan without a McDonalds or KFC outlet. The recent popularity of McDonalds Mega Mac is evidence of this change in diet.
Even on the island of Okinawa, famed for its good health and longevity and which has 55 centenarians per 100,000 people, the next generation of Okinawans are the fattest in Japan.
Food experts there put the blame squarely on the number of fast food outlets (Okinawa has more fast-food outlets per head than anywhere else in the country due to the American occupation) and many fear the “Okinawan Crisis” will spread to the rest of Japan as the younger generation abandons the traditional fish and soy products for meat and fast food.
In Okinawa, the generation that grew up eating American style fast food are now reaching middle age and many of them are overweight and at risk from diabetes. Almost 30 per cent of Okinawan men die before reaching 65, and nearly half of men in their forties are obese. Read more about the Okinawa Crisis here.
About 7 years ago the Dandoweb blog reported that Japanese men were indeed getting fatter but Japanese women were getting thinner. We wonder if young women have reversed that trend and are also getting fatter? Well, not if they are anything like Natsuko Gal Sone, who despite being a champion food eater, weighs only 95 lbs!
Other Japansugoi.com articles of possible interest
- McDonalds Japan re-introduces the MegaMac
- Game show with (rare) fat Japanese people
- Japanese fashion look bon-kyu-bon
- Japanese women getting slimmer is a fact
- Teenage American girls try Japanese food
- Japan’s fake food replicas are masterpieces
- Natsuko “Gal” Sone, another Japanese food eating champion video
- Soothing Okinawan Jpop Group Begin ビギン
- Japanese Food Camp challenge
- Chopsticks practice for Gaijin
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(Japan Sugoi)
March 25th, 2007 at 11:55 am
Living in Okinawa, I have noticed this myself. Part of it is definitely due to the huge number of western fast food outlets. Ramen & soba shops are getting fewer, while McDonalds et all are all growing. As you drive closer to military bases, the fast food outlets grow in numbers, and you can notice the Japanese people become heavier in appearance.
But in Okinawa, alcohol must also account for a number of Okinawan male deaths before the age of 65. It is common to see guys in their 30s and 40s, staggering around the towns and even out in the villages, completely drunk on Awamori (Okinawan alcohol). Hopefully something can be done to reverse this trend in the near future.
March 25th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
I love those Mega Macs but I still prefer sushi. I think its inevitable that Japanese will become bigger. It is interesting about Japanese women becoming thinner. I have never seen a fat obese Japanese lady.
March 25th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
Don’t know where you are Terry, but I’ve seen a fair few middle aged obese Japanese women here in Oki.
March 26th, 2007 at 1:06 am
Solution for overweight problem, ban American fastfood.
March 26th, 2007 at 4:32 pm
Nice idea, but hardly practical. Does it mean that Mosburger would get to stay open?
March 27th, 2007 at 9:44 am
Is there a difference between American Fast Food and Japanese Fast Food?
March 27th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
Well I would say Japanese fast food would be something from Yoshinoya with soba or udon.
May 25th, 2007 at 4:03 am
Maybe Japanese people should just not eat American food. It’s still a choice. When an American is fat it’s his or her responsiblity, no one elses. When Japanese get fat it should be his or her responsiblity. Just because the fast food is there doesn’t mean there is an American right there forcing them to eat it. They need to do what all overweight people need to do, eat healthy and get back to exercise.
June 8th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
The next graphs show a tendency of japanese woman. Look.
http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/honkawa/2205.html
http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/honkawa/2200.html
The following Japanese columns discuss the issue of corpulence.
http://dandoweb.com/backno/20060918.htm
June 14th, 2007 at 11:35 am
Not only is fast food the problem, but the massive amounts of sweets shops and the fact that they eat so much more bread then they used to!!
December 31st, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Secret of Japanese Slim dispelled
The “fattening men and thinning women” trend in Japan, which was deemed extremely peculiar from the rest of the world, was caused by the eating habits affected by worries over employment.
“Japanese Youth and Women Got Skinny Mainly due to Their Anxieties over Employment” was released.
http://dandoweb.com/e/slim.html