Wednesday 24 April 2013

Japan: World Famous for its Sprightly and Youthful Population




No, wait. We all know the real reason for this one,







(With a grateful nod to Chris for this, funnier vid)

ETA - Ask, and ye shall receive  If you're interested in the actual contents of the book, instead of just laughing at the title and cover, Kathryn gives it a working over here.

9 comments:

  1. OMG that book is the worst. My sister has it. I've meant to blog about the fucked up- ness of it. For example, Japanese women are thin because they walk to work! WTF... so that's why the trains are so empty.

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    1. It's not that they walk, it's how they walk that's key. An achingly slow mincing pigeon-toed shuffle, with a Loius Vuitton bag in the crook of the elbow and arms splayed at an awkward seventy five-degree angle to the rest of the body.

      Remember Ladies, the harder you make it for people to get past, the more calories you'll burn!


      P.S. Please do blog about it. I couldn't get past the stupidity of the cover. It'd be amusing to hear what was actually inside.

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  2. They walk to the station, except for the ones who go by bus.

    Japanese women are skinny because they rigorously restrict their calorie intake.

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  3. RMilner has the right idea. Japanese women don't eat much. They hardly exercise at all (except for walking as needed), but they tend to be pretty cautious about what they eat and are raised in a culture in which small portions are the norm. Loads of psychological studies support the idea that all humans will eat more if more is placed in front of them. If Japan as a society started increasing portions, you'd see more weight issues there gradually develop over time.

    The gradual upscaling of portions in the West is a big part of the obesity issue. Japan continues to value quality over quantity and give people no more than they actually want to eat at once. A combination of culture and attentiveness to food are the main reason Japanese women remain thin, though I think the notion that they don't age is pretty stupid. To the extent that they appear to age more slowly, it's related to avoiding the sun for the most part, and to not gaining weight as they get older to a lesser extent (added weight tends to add the illusion of a higher age).

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    1. RM, Orchid -

      I'd generally go along with that. I certainly think the main health benefit of the much vaunted 'traditional Japanese diet' is a more sensible attitude towards portion size. If you look at the actual foods themselves they're no better or worse than almost other 'traditional' diets you'd care to name.

      I'd be a little wary of ascribing those attitudes towards Japanese women specifically (and I know, you're probably only specifying them because of the book title), it doesn't seem to be particularly gender specific. Lord knows Japanese women labour under a whole host of less than progressive attitudes towards gender, but there are relatively few overweight Japanese men, either.

      I'd highly recommend looking at The Lobster Dance in the 'Tortoises' blogroll to the right there. She's got a lot of interesting stuff to say about gender and food in Japan.

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  4. A lot of the really skinny ones are just atrophied anyway from not eating properly. They might look good in skinny jeans, but not womanly nor attractive. Orchid is spot on with the sun avoidance and smaller portions. I also think a comparatively healthy selection of convenience foods is another reason.

    The walking thing, for the most part, I think is spot on. Coming from suburban Sydney, the most walking one would do was from the front door to the car and then from the very close car park to the destination.

    Kamo, did you actually read this?

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    1. Good lord, no. I just found it in the book shop and was tickled by the notion that women from the country with the highest female life expectancy in the world apparently "don't get old."

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  5. Geez, even the title is nauseating...
    I was with a Japanese female friend today...the girl is wasting away. I told her I'm gnna start calling her Trick or Treat cuz she's starting to look like a skeleton doing cosplay.lol

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    1. Nausea, that's it. Let's not forget the slimming benefits of good old-fashioned bulimia. Can't be any less healthy than some of the other stuff I've seen advocated hereabouts...

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