After living in Tokyo for 3 years, I’ve had a chance to observe and experience the Japanese urban diet and overall lifestyle firsthand. We’ve all heard about the healthy Japanese diet. This diet, containing large amounts of fish and vegetables while using relatively little red meat and fatty foods, is the most frequently cited reason for the relatively healthy population. So, the lesson is that a good diet makes for skinny people? Not quite. Through my own personal observation, it has become apparent that the actual diet is not as healthy as people tend to think. However, the overall lifestyle is healthier than that found in America.

First, let me speak a little about what I have observed to be the actual (versus strictly traditional) diet. While I can’t speak about the rural areas, few people in the urban setting stick to the traditional Japanese diet. Most people seem to get a good mix of healthy and unhealthy food. On the healthy side there’s traditional cooking. These are mom’s/grandma’s recipes, except they’re delicious and healthy as opposed to American mom/grandma recipes, which are filling and artery clogging. On the unhealthy side, there are all the usual things: fattening places like McDonalds, sugar charged caffeine, candy made from ingredients whose names are all synonymous with sugar, etc. Actually, I have been surprised by the number of figure-conscious girls eating McDonalds, having donuts, or drinking extra calories with their coffee (aka a frappuccino). Beer is not considered to be a source of unwanted calories, but rather a necessary part of life. I’ve personally learned and adopted the questionable habit of eating after a night of drinking. A thousand calories from a big bowl of ramen–most people don’t think of ramen as being a high calorie food, but it’s comparable to something like pasta–is not uncommon. The Japanese diet is infamous for the sodium content. People who follow the 2000mg per day recommended by the American FDA should stop eating after lunch. Most Americans may be surprised to find that the concept of counting calories or reading nutritional information is foreign to many Japanese. They simply eat what they want. And yet, in spite of all of that, people look so skinny.

Although I’ve given a pretty grim impression of the modern diet, it’s not completely bad. Convenience store bentos, although equal in calories to their American counterparts, contain less fatty meat or potato salad and more rice. With the advent of Atkins and other diets, most Americans have learned to shun carbs in favor of proteins. However, they seem to forget that their meat contains not only protein but possibly also loads of fat.

Then where does the annoying skinniness come from? Perhaps genetics dictate that the Japanese are naturally thinner than Americans. However, I think it comes from a more active lifestyle. Very few people drive to work. Many people live more than 10 minutes from the nearest train station, which they use to get to work. So the roundtrip to and from work usually consists of 30+ minutes of walking (from their house to the train station and from another train station to their office) and at least as much standing on the train…..all while carrying a briefcase. But it’s not just work. Going out to meet friends or catch a movie also means taking the train. Many people even walk or take the bus to buy groceries. And that of course means that they must walk home carrying heavy bags. Compare that with the grueling trek most Americans make to the end of their driveway. In addition to daily walking, I’ve noticed that the most popular way for people to spend free time is by playing sports.

The Japanese seem to get a good mix of unhealthy, fatty/sugary foods and traditional healthy cooking. They don’t seem to shy away from eating what they want. In addition, the lifestyle includes loads of walking. This does become unpleasant during the summer, but that just makes for better daily exercise.
So the lesson here seems to be one that everyone already knows: a combination of diet and exercise leads to skinnier, healthier people. If what I’ve observed
so far is correct, then a small improvement in BOTH diet AND exercise could lead to a lifestyle where people don’t have to worry about how many calories they already ate today or will eat later tonight.

NOTE: The author does not claim to be an expert in nutrition or any related areas. This article is based on his personal experience.