You may have noticed that obesity rates in developed countries have risen since the 1960s. However, when you look at countries like Japan, you find that there are relatively few obese individuals. This raises the question: Why are the Japanese not overweight?
The obesity rate of countries like Japan is about 4.5% compared to the United States which is 10 times the number which means that the average American might be considered fat in Japan. Getting answers is important to understanding what is happening in countries like this with fewer people being obese.
For context, Japan smokes more than the United States, but people in the US go to the gym more than people in Japan. So we could say dirt plays a role. There are more fast foods in the United States compared to Japan, so there is the convenience of getting all food from a nearby fast food restaurant. In Japan, there are fast food restaurants, but there are a lot of them that serve regular Japanese food to people thereby preventing them from consuming junk food even when they are trying to get food from fast food.
Their convenience stores also have a wide range of exciting low-calorie food compared to those in the United States. The convenience stores in America are made up of a wide range of junk. This is because the standard for food in Japan is high so even in convenience stores, they still keep to it. While there are healthy meals in the United States, when it comes to being cheap, it isn't always healthy.
Japanese also sleep less than Americans and that's because Japanese are very busy people but this isn't right if we are to look at the health aspect of it. But then there is another thing of concern which can be the reason for lots of obese people in the US compared to developed countries with few ones like Japan, and that's Sugar. The average Japanese person eats half the amount of Sugar consumed by the average American. Things are sweeter in the United States compared to Japan.
Some people might want to say that it has to do with genetics. Well, genetics might play a role or two in it, but it is not the predominant cause. It has a lot to do with environmental influences and choices. Countries like Japan do a lot of things that require decision-making, and this also shows in their length of life seeing that Japan has the longest life expectancy.
Reference
https://www.choicesmagazine.org/2006-4/grabbag/2006-4-12.htm
https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/nanna/record/14321/files/tr06-02s.pdf?
https://www.everlywell.com/blog/weight-management/what-causes-obesity-in-america
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3013295/
https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/umrfwp/14321.html
https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/nanna/record/14321/files/tr06-02s.pdf?
https://www.everlywell.com/blog/weight-management/what-causes-obesity-in-america
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3013295/
https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/umrfwp/14321.html