Why Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat - the book

[Alexandra]

I came across this book a while ago and thought it was interesting. It is somewhat condescending but made me wonder about Asian vs American eating habits. How do the Asians stay so slim when they eat so many carbs in the form of rice? Is is all the walking? Do they have diabetes rates over there like we do here?

I would love to visit the Orient and see (and taste) for myself some day!

[Danestress]

I came across this book a while ago and thought it was interesting. It is somewhat condescending but made me wonder about Asian vs American eating habits. How do the Asians stay so slim when they eat so many carbs in the form of rice? Is is all the walking? Do they have diabetes rates over there like we do here?

I would love to visit the Orient and see (and taste) for myself some day!

 

 

I guess part of it is that carbs don't actually make you fat.

 

What makes you fat? Eating more calories than you burn. And Americans eat a huge number of calories in excess fat (some fat is necessary, of course), high glycemic index carb, and junk.

 

I lost a lot of weight living in Japan and felt like I ate ALL the time. I ate tons and tons of white rice, but I didn't eat much fried food (it was available, but not a big part of the diet), much meat, junky snacks etc. I ate very few sweets. Portion sizes were smaller, but the Japanese can definitely pack away a LOT of food at a family gathering. Just not typically burgers and fries.

 

I really think two groups of people get fat: Those who, for whatever reason have a low metabolism (and it seems like some of them are people who do work out, but a seditary lifestyle can be part of this) and those who eat a lot of calories. But I am no expert. I do have to say, though, that most Japanese women do get an older, matronly look at some point. They seem to "thinken" up.

 

I wonder if part of the problem for American women is that we just can't accept looking like we are 55 when we are 55. I wonder if part of it is a culture that does not value age, especially in women. We have a cuture that is very dismissive and mocking of older women, rather than revering. I wonder if that makes it harder for us to eat well and work out with an aim of just living longer and better, without being so frustrated that, in the end, we *will* get old when we actually *are* old, lol.

[Carol in Cal.]

The diet is extremely low in fat. It is actually pretty difficult to eat enough to gain a lot of weight.

 

Also, the streets are very safe. You can take the subway without worrying about personal safety. If you ride a bike to the subway station, you do not lock it up and you do not wonder whether it will be there when you return. Driving is expensive. The roads are narrow and crowded. The gas prices are quite high. So taking public transportation is much more common.

 

So I think that there is just more natural opportunity for exercise there, and also a healthier diet.

[battlemaiden]

This has been my argument against low-carb diets from the beginning!

 

Do you remember seeing the National Geographic photo essay showing the typical school lunch of various countries? That made such an impression on me. Japan's school bento versus a typical American lunch tray! Ugh, is there any wonder?

 

I lived in Japan in Jr. Hi and I remember the meals being very low fat and unprocessed. The portions are also reasonable.

 

Jo

[LizzyBee]

I lived in Japan for 3 years, and not all Japanese women are slim and trim. I don't recall seeing any Japanese women who were horribly obese, but some of them are overweight. The girls tend to be more athletic and do a lot more walking than the average American girl, so many of them develop very thick calves early on.

[Danestress]

The diet is extremely low in fat. It is actually pretty difficult to eat enough to gain a lot of weight.

 

Also, the streets are very safe. You can take the subway without worrying about personal safety.

 

Yeah, that's what I was told. I was pick pocketed on the subway, assauted twice (once by a drunk business man on a subway and once in a rural area where I was hiking) and once I saw a guy 'entertaining himself' in a car right by an elementary school playground where children were playing. I took down his license, but the police refused to do anything unless he actually "did something."

 

I personally think the crime rate in Japan is much higher than reported.

 

Despite this, I did feel safe in some ways. There really aren't a lot of guns and there is a low rate of violent crime. But man - I've never been a victim of any of this stuff in the US!

[Carol in Cal.]

Yeah, that's what I was told. I was pick pocketed on the subway, assauted twice (once by a drunk business man on a subway and once in a rural area where I was hiking) and once I saw a guy 'entertaining himself' in a car right by an elementary school playground where children were playing. I took down his license, but the police refused to do anything unless he actually "did something."

 

I personally think the crime rate in Japan is much higher than reported.

 

Despite this, I did feel safe in some ways. There really aren't a lot of guns and there is a low rate of violent crime. But man - I've never been a victim of any of this stuff in the US!

 

I grew up in a city in the US, and I was pickpocketed repeatedly on the streetcar, saw guys exposing or playing with themselves at least 3 times on the bus, knocked down in broad daylight once, sexually 'approached' in threatening ways at least 3 times, and generally continuously harassed.

 

When I visited Japan, I felt so much safer; and I never saw anything 'wrong'. Maybe it was the area--Fujisawa and areas around Hakone, and Tsukuba.

[battlemaiden]

Yeah, that's what I was told. I was pick pocketed on the subway, assauted twice (once by a drunk business man on a subway and once in a rural area where I was hiking) and once I saw a guy 'entertaining himself' in a car right by an elementary school playground where children were playing. I took down his license, but the police refused to do anything unless he actually "did something."

 

I personally think the crime rate in Japan is much higher than reported.

 

Despite this, I did feel safe in some ways. There really aren't a lot of guns and there is a low rate of violent crime. But man - I've never been a victim of any of this stuff in the US!

 

I agree about the crime rate and selective enforcement.

 

But look out if you are a foreigner and you commit a crime. My brother ran into a woman on his bicycle and they hauled his butt down to the station. He had to pay the woman for "damages" even though she was essentially unharmed- I do think she was knocked to the pavement, but there were no injuries requiring medical attention.

[Joanne]

I guess part of it is that carbs don't actually make you fat.

 

What makes you fat? Eating more calories than you burn. And Americans eat a huge number of calories in excess fat (some fat is necessary, of course), high glycemic index carb, and junk.

 

I completely disagree with the first sentence.

 

I wonder if part of the problem for American women is that we just can't accept looking like we are 55 when we are 55. I wonder if part of it is a culture that does not value age, especially in women. We have a cuture that is very dismissive and mocking of older women, rather than revering. I wonder if that makes it harder for us to eat well and work out with an aim of just living longer and better, without being so frustrated that, in the end, we *will* get old when we actually *are* old, lol.

 

I agree wholeheartedly with this paragraph.

[Peela]

Low carb is just the fad of the decade. It will pass.

There are many ways to eat healthily. just look at traditional cultures...they all have a balanced diet, in their natural state, and none of those diets are the same. Some are vegetarian, some are virtually exclusively meat. Some are high fat, some are high carb. It is the diet and book industries, and weight loss industries, that get on a certain bandwagon. Its not true. None of it is true. Its all subjective. Many things work. Many things don't work. A diet that is a radical deviance from your normal diet, is bound to fail, because it is impossible to maintain. For Japanese people, their diet is part of their culture, its not something they try to maintain. If you were to suddenly start eating like the Japanese, it would probably fail because you wouldn't be able to maintain it in a western culture.

just my thoughts.

[Kate CA]

I wonder if part of the problem for American women is that we just can't accept looking like we are 55 when we are 55. I wonder if part of it is a culture that does not value age, especially in women. We have a cuture that is very dismissive and mocking of older women, rather than revering. I wonder if that makes it harder for us to eat well and work out with an aim of just living longer and better, without being so frustrated that, in the end, we *will* get old when we actually *are* old, lol.

 

This is *so* true. It is grievous that we don't seem to value age. I mean I am only 37 and I worry about not looking "young" anymore. Why does it matter so much anyway? I mean I don't want to look 80 when I am not, but still, why is the focus so much on youth that even those (like me) who know better?

 

Another sad aspect is that those who are older don't always want to be needed by the young. I have seen a lot of posts here about grandparents that don't really want to be involved in their children/grandchildren's lives. Do you think that plays into it? I hope our family is able to develop a love and appreciation of family unity - all generations.