Comment by lobochrome
1 year ago
Fascinating. Japan's caloric intake per capita has declined since the peak in the early 90s. No wonder everybody here is so lean. I'm always shocked when I step off the plane in Germany or the US at how fat everybody is.
Fat taxes. [1] The Western world is/was adopting a fat acceptance mindset, at the same time Japan decided to start fining businesses and governmental regions for having overweight workers/residents.
[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat_tax#Japan
Fat acceptance? Turn on any form of broadcast media and you are going to be inundated with products/lifestyles/coaching on how you can lose weight to get the body you want.
Random web hit claims 89% of American women are unhappy with their weight[0]
[0] https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/89-percent-of-amer...
I think capitialism/consumerism have a "double speaking" nature. They want you to believe it's okay to be fat so you buy more food than you need, then they want you to believe it's not okay so they can sell you weight-loss products.
The amazing part is that it works: humans are capable to believe two contradicting things at the same time.
Walk into any Target or Victoria Secret and look at the size of their mannequins.
The fat acceptance movement in the 2000s changed how we advertise.
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But the previous thread is right! There is so much advertising with fat people in the US now, and it's not just Dove!
Or look at MLB players. They're all Chubby Mc Chubster!
In Japan - we wouldn't dream of putting fat people in ads!
It's not the same. Advertisement for countermeasures does not mean that compliance is controlled.
Compare advertisement vs the Japanese "fat ban".
And how is that supposed to contradict fat acceptance?
It's just inspection is mandated, never like a tax. Wikipedia shouldn't refer random blog.
That’s how I felt the system worked. I don’t actually know if there are financial punishments for companies with insufficient waistlines.
I had no idea!
> Japan's caloric intake per capita has declined since the peak in the early 90s.
Couldn't possibly have anything to do with its aging population (median age closing in on age 50). Related discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37878558
Older people tend to be fatter, so I don't think so.
I mean if your calorie needs drop 30% and you reduce intake by 15-20%, putting on fat is still possible while eating less.
That data is calorie supply, not consumption. It could be true that Japanese consume just as much as ever, but waste slightly less food than they used to.
Fair - and accurate anecdotally. Food waste is something that is way more avoided. Also, portions in restaurants are about 30% the size compared to the US, so a lot of food waste is avoided.