Comparing Japanese and American Diets

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Comparing Japanese and American Diets

The typical diet of the average Japanese citizen is much healthier than that of an average American citizen. The Japanese diet is vastly different than the common western diet in terms of ingredients used, portion size, preparation, and relationship between its users and their food. While Americans commonly opt for unhealthy food high in calories, fat, cholesterol, and sodium, many people of Japan benefit from their healthy choice of rice, fish, vegetables, and soy products. The Japanese style of preparing and serving food is also very intricate and deliberate, which encourages diners to truly appreciate their food, instead of rushing through each meal without much thought, as done in the United States. The typical Japanese diet offers its users increased immunity and can help prevent against some cancers, heart and cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes, among other illnessesi. The diet typically followed in the United States is grossly opposite in that many commonly consumed unhealthy foods have been determined to actually cause the same diseases that the Japanese diet works against, including but not limited to heart disease, some cancer, and diabetes.

The combined factors surrounding both the Japanese diet and the typical American diet are reflected in the percentage of overweight people in each country; approximately 65% of people are overweight in the United States, while only 25% of Japan’s population is overweightii. These percentages are compiled from Body Mass Index (BMI) data, which is a scientifically formulated relation between a person’s weight and height that helps to determine a healthy weight range for a person to maintain. A person is classified as overweigh...

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xv http://members.tripod.com/~Doc_In_The_Kitchen/japan.html

xvi http://www.caloriecountercharts.com/chart1a.htm

xvii http://www.statistics.gov./STATBASE/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=7445

xviii http://www.cspinet.org/sodapop/liquid_candy.htm

xix http://www.mckinley.uiuc.edu/Handouts/reducesodiumdiet.html

xx http://www.dietsite.com/dt/diets/HeartHealthy/fatdictionary.asp#SATURATED%20FATS:

xxi http://www.mercola.com/2003/feb/5/food_portions.htm

xxiihttp://dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Shopping_and_Services/Food_and_Drink/Restaurants/Fast_Food/

xxiii http://www.ynhh.org/online/nutrition/advisor/fastfood.html

xxiv http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/healthmedical/a/hhsobesity.htm

xxv http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/08/27/2003200438

xxvi http://hin.nhlbi.nih.gov/portion/portion.cgi

xxvii http://www.choicesmagazine.org/2004-3/obesity/2004-3-02.pdf

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