Why Are We So FAT?! America Vs Japan

#GregDoucette #Obesity #AmericaVsJapan

[bigt]

Japan has a specific word when eating that means just before being full . They don’t eat until they are full, they know moderation . It’s cultural.

[Happycandle]

My wife is Japanese and I’ve spent some time there. They have a lots of inexpensive healthy options but also way way way better junk food. It is definitely easy to get fat there. Big thing is they have a very strict beauty standard over there and are really pushed to fit in. I went over to Japan with visible abs and my in-laws thought I was fat because I wasn’t skinny.

[JaridOrgeron]

Just got back last week from Japan! This video is 100% spot on!! It’s actually frowned upon to “eat on the go” in Japan. They have massive public transportation and you will rarely if ever see a Japanese person eating on a train unless it’s food served on a long bullet train ride. Thanks Greg for the vid!!!!

[Artak]

One major factor is city or town design in my opinion. Japan has way more walking friendly or bike friendly places than America. The US designed our Infrastructure around cars. There are very few cities where you can exist in America without a car.

[danigar]

Meanwhile here in the US people like Lizzzo are promoting fat pride 🤦‍♀️ the damage that is being done to this new generation is immeasurable.

[Bryan-pzys]

American living in Japan for about 8 years now.
Thanks for making this video!
It's something I often thought about.
I agree with most of what you and others have said here.
There is plenty of cheap high-calorie junk food here, and these days offering extra large sizes is becoming increasingly popular.
For that reason, I think it's easy for people to gain weight here if they aren't careful.
That said, the education/general knowledge of what is healthy here is much higher, so people know that things like ramen are high in calories and so they don't eat them as often.
Furthermore, as others have said, societal pressure to be thin is also much greater here, so the majority of people stick to the smaller than average serving sizes. They're used to it, so that amount of food is enough for them.
Most people usually want to be the same as everyone else too; they don't want to stand out (for better or worse).
The extra large portion sizes are like novelty items that are rarely ordered—and they often still aren't that large by western standards.
There are overweight people here too of course, not to mention the sumo culture, but also, recently, high-protein, low-sugar (and gluten free) food has been pretty popular.
All full-time workers have an annual health check (covered by their company) which includes measuring their waists (as well as blood work, etc.), and most companies also have a daily stretching routine that all employees do together in the morning too. (If you search "radio calisthenics, " you can see that it's popular in some other nearby countries as well.)
I think the biggest thing, though, is how much people walk and ride their bicycles here.
Almost every adult has a bicycle with a basket here which they use for shopping, and many people go grocery shopping every single day rather than buying in bulk.
(People prefer fresh/new goods here, and restaurants always have seasonal/temporary menu items.)
Extracurricular sports clubs are super popular among students, and (after kindergarten) there are no school buses, so all students walk and ride their bicycles a lot. Furthermore, as you mentioned, Japan is a safe country, and everywhere you go, you'll see elderly people on their daily walks around their neighborhood.
If you ever hike up Mt. Fuji, I'm sure you'll be surprised how many elderly people would be right there beside you.
Okay, sorry; thank you for reading.

[Dara]

I did a student exchange years back in Japan, and I remember there was a day where doctors and nurses come to the school and you get measured, weighed and generally checked out health-wise. If you were considered overweight then you and your parents got in trouble for you being unhealthy and there would be a meeting at the school to pretty much get scolded into taking action. lol It could have just been something the school that I went to did, but it seemed pretty common

[pouterbuttercup]

It's because in America people are taught it's ok to be a fat unhealthy unattractive food disposal.
In Japan you will get mocked and judged openly to your face especially by family and friends and coworkers.

[bradlopez]

As someone who loves to visit Japan before I watch this. Its the cheap and convenient healthy foods and the WALKING. OMG they built that country for foot traffic I was averaging 15ish miles a day.

[Ryan-wxbi]

Lived in Japan for a while. They even had "fast food" drive thrus that you could order rice, meat and veggies.. that also weren't doused in sauce.

[Mexicobeanpole]

There’s a tremendous amount of social and family pressure to be thin in Asian families.
The girl in the family that they’ll call “the fat one”, is still very small and thin by American standards.

[Zergeometer]

Another important factor I think is the difference in aesthetics. East Asian tends to appreciate being slim than being big, and American is the opposite.

[achevres]

I’ve been to Japan several times and I love Japan. Overall, Coach Greg is on point with these differences. One can eat very cheaply in Japan (ramen shops and convenience stores, just 2 examples) and they have many high calorie foods, but the combination of all the things Greg talks about keeps them thin. Three things that have stood out to me when visiting in person are: 1. The amount of walking they do is insane, every day, everyone it seems. The overwhelming majority of Japanese commute to work and to shop and don’t have a car. They don’t need a treadmill at all. 2. Like he said, they tend to eat at set times. And there is *no* eating at your seat in any public transportation, except the bullet train. Also it is very, very rude to eat and walk, so that cuts down the opportunities to eat, so they sit down to eat. 3. The convenience stores, or combini, are minimum 1 per bock, lol, and the quality of the food is fantastic. Sure you can get fried foods and junk snacks (in smaller portions), but they have so many options with vegetables, lean meats and, of course, rice. Can’t wait to go back to Japan.

[japanesefilmmaker]

Hii. I'm a japanese english learner. I'm so grad that you talked about japan. And I really appreciate your help Because I was able to learn a lot of new words from you such as "moron" "ZEERROOO" and so on. I can't wait to watch next next episode!! コーチ、ありがとう 😆😆😆

[FecalExcrement]

Theres also a much higher social stigma to obesity in Japan than in the States. And Japanese people are much more cognizant of social norms and expectations

[platinumstorm]

Greg, I love your content, I can never get tired of learning more about nutrition and diet, thank you for helping to educate and change our perspectives. I hope one day, you gather enough influence to change the world for the better!

[ghostthegreat]

BRO I HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS FOR SO LONG THEN YOU MAKE A VID ABOUT IT. I swear God does what I think about man

[Scaran]

I just did groceries and I had to cut down on a lot of things. Keeping most of the healthier options for my kids. I’d love to buy fish, but $40 for salmon here in Surrey, BC. Eating healthy in Canada has gotten very hard unless you have no kids.

[DavidZMH]

I am Asian and I hate it when people say oh Asian people are small and skinny…it may be somewhat true but like Greg says its a lifestyle. If you take any Asian and make them live in USA for a few months, bet you most of them will be fat in no time.

[Wealth.is.Health]

Great video. That's the type of video that well help people of the western world get healthier. Thanks, Greg!