In this video, I'll uncover why it's so easy to be thin in Japan, whereas it's a struggle
in many other places of the world.
Many people remain perplexed as to how the Japanese have such low obesity rates and such
a low percentage of people who are overweight. The other thing that is confusing to them
is how is it that they're able to maintain such a high percentage of centenarians? These
are people who live to a ripe old age, disease free when they eat all that rice and so that's
what we're going to break down in this video. We're going to talk about, first of all, why
is it so easy to be thin in Japan, but also we're going to talk about all the little details.
A lot of people are confused. They're eating all this rice, it's linked to obesity. It's
linked to Type II diabetes and yet they're still so thin. So, we'll uncover all the details
in this video, so stick around to the end.
But before we get started, I'm Dr. Zyrowski and welcome to the channel. If you're new
to the channel, it's a pleasure to have you here. Be sure to subscribe, hit that bell
notification, and join our notification community. That way I can help you excel your health
and your life.
Okay, let's go ahead and break down, first of all, some of the numbers, some of the statistics
here. Now, the obesity rate in the U S versus Japan. Now when we look at the body mass index,
we're talking about BMIs over 30. The reason BMI over 30 is a concern because this is basically
one of the numbers we look at where we consider if you're over 30 then you fall into the state
of obesity. Now, BMI over 30 - in the U.S., it’s estimated that 32% of people have a
BMI over 30. This means that 32% of people fall into the obese category. Now in Japan
it is very different. In Japan, there's only 3.6% of people who fall into the obese category.
Now, U.S. versus Japan, we have an enormous amount of people who are obese and once again,
when we look at obesity, this is linked to heart disease, this is linked to cancer, this
is linked to diabetes, of course, metabolic syndrome - all these different major conditions
that people are suffering from in the United States. Yet other places don't have it and
they're eating all that rice.
Let's go ahead and break this down further. BMI over 25. This is when you're considered
to be overweight. You’re not falling into the obesity category, but you were falling
into the overweight category. In the U.S., we have 66.5% of people who fall into this
category of being overweight and in Japan, 27.4% of people are considered overweight.
So, we can see that the numbers jump up drastically, both in the U.S. and in Japan, but yet overall
in Japan it's still pretty low and they're still eating all that rice.
Now, let's go ahead and talk about the way that they're eating. So, first I guess let's
break it down and talk about beverages and then we'll talk about the way that they're
eating in Japan versus United States. So, in the U.S. there's a very different way that
people are consuming their beverages as in, in the U.S., we're drinking many different
things that aren't very healthy for us, and in Japan, it's not so much the case. So, in
the U S a lot of people are drinking sweet tea or should I say sweetened tea. So, whether
it's a green tea or black tea, it has a lot of sugar in it. And I lived in the South for
a while, obviously is a big deal down there versus in the North where I live now in Michigan,
but sweet tea is a big deal and a lot of people are drinking it. In many cases you're going
to find that these teas in the convenience stores and the supermarkets are loaded with
way more sugar than many of the sodas are. They have way more calories than many of the
sodas. And so drinking tea that is sweetened is a big deal here. A lot of people are doing
so. And the funny thing about that is it's considered the healthier options. Like, well,
I quit drinking soda and I went to tea. It's like it's the same thing. There's really not
much of a difference. A lot of people in the United States are drinking soda. This is a
huge source of empty calories that leads to obesity. What that essentially means is a
lot of calories with no nutritional benefit and so many people are drinking soda here.
The United States is one of the top countries and the top consumers of sodas. Mexico has
beat us out here in the United States, but United States still remains second on the
list. And so huge, huge amount of soda consumption here. And like I said, this is very, very
much the reason that many people struggle with their weight in the United States drinking
high sugar teas and sodas all day long. Energy drinks is another problem. Of course, these
are in most cases loaded with sugar, but they're also loaded with caffeine - not too healthy
for us. Lots of calories in these. Sweetened coffee too is a big deal here in the United
States. A lot of people are going and getting their Starbucks and they're not going to Starbucks
and getting a black coffee with a little bit of cream in it. They're going to Starbucks
and getting a latte that has more calories in it and is worse for you than many of these
sodas. And so, we have to take that into consideration as to how many calories - in many cases, that's
hundreds of calories that you're getting in some of these different lattes because the
sugar content is insane in them. And so, a lot of sweetened coffee here. And then of
course, every once in awhile somebody drinks some water between their fruit juice. So,
the United States, a lot of high sugar beverages are being consumed.
Now in Japan, a lot of people are drinking tea now. It's a very staple a drink over there
to have things like green tea, black tea. And the thing is when they're drinking tea,
they're not putting a bunch of sugar into it. So, tea has an enormous amount of benefit
and that's why a lot of people think that they're doing themselves a favor when they
go from soda to some sort of tea. But unfortunately, like I said, it has a lot of sugar in it.
They are drinking the tea, they're getting the benefits from it, the antioxidant benefits
- the catechins, the weight loss benefits that like green tea has to offer. And so,
they're drinking that tea just plain. And so, then they're also drinking a lot of water,
coffee. They aren't drinking a bunch of sweetened coffee over there. And then as far as soda,
they are a pretty high consumer of soda, but not near as much as the United States is consuming
yearly.
Now, let's talk about the common foods that they're eating in Japan versus what we're
eating in the U.S. So, in the U.S. lots of processed foods. I mean you don't have to
go very far to find a fast food restaurant or even look too far in a grocery store to
find bags and bags and different containers of foods that have more ingredients than you
can even count. And then not to mention with all those ingredients, half of them you can't
even pronounce and most people have no clue what these ingredients are. So enormous amounts
of processed foods in the United States. Factory farm meats - this basically these meats that
are coming from these farms which are just raising a huge amount of animals in a very
unsustainable way - lots of different antibiotics, lots of different chemicals, and therefore
it's just a more unhealthy style of protein. When you look at overall all the different
ways you can consume protein, factory farm meats is not a great way.
Next here is going to be wheat. Now wheat is a major issue because it has something
called gluten in it. This gluten is really linked to autoimmune diseases, inflammatory
conditions, and a lot of different gut conditions and we consume a lot of wheat here in the
United States. And of course, it’s not good for us.
Also, sugar, which we kind of just mentioned on the other present part of the presentation
here that a lot of people are consuming way too much sugar. I mean there's sugar in everything
here. You simply can go grab a can of tomatoes and it's got sugar added to it. You can go
to a restaurant and get a little salt packet and you look at it and it has sugar added
to it. And so, so often we're finding sugar added in things that just have no reason to
have sugar in them. But in the United States, sugar is added to everything it seems.
And then large portions in the United States. Everything is supersized and a lot of people
are consuming very large portions that are putting them far beyond the calories that
they should be consuming on a daily basis if they're trying to either maintain or lose
weight.
Now in Japan, what are they doing there? They're eating a lot more whole foods. You're going
to find that there's a way, way less processed foods when you go to Japan. They're also eating
a lot of seafood now. Seafood of course is good for you in many ways - lots of DHA, lots
of good Omegas. Now there's reason to believe seafood is not good for you in many cases
too because the oceans have become very polluted. There's lots of different issues with toxicity,
but in general when you look at seafood is considered to be a healthier food to consume
versus some of the different meats that people are eating here in the United States. Now,
both have their problems, but overall seafood is a good protein source - lots of good fats.
They're also consuming a lot of rice there. Now, one of the things is about rice is that
it is considered to be not a nutritionally beneficial food, but it also doesn't cause
a lot of problems like wheat does. Wheat has the gluten in, it causes a lot of autoimmune
conditions. Rice is considered to be a very auto-immune safe food just because it is.
There's just not a whole lot there that's going to disrupt the immune system. And so,
they have all that rice.
Eating a lot of fermented foods, which is good for the gut. And then also the small
portion sizes are good too. Now, when we look at just overall weight loss in general, it's
very important to consider that portion size is a big deal because if you're over consuming
calories, you're going to gain weight. And if you're under consuming, you're putting
yourself into a calorie deficit, you will lose weight. So, if you're making sure that
your portions are right or even coming a little bit under, it'll be very helpful for losing
weight. But if you're constantly going out to eat and the portion sizes are huge, then
as a result you will start gaining a lot of weight.
Now, let's talk about a few other things here. So, when we look at Japan, yes, a lot of people
look at the fact that they eat rice and they kind of just break it down. How can they stay
thin if they're eating rice? But you have to look at the whole picture, the big picture.
Their standard way of eating as much cleaner than it is here in the United States. Whereas
the United States, the standard way of eating, the average way of eating - of course not
the people who are watching this channel on a regular basis - but for the average person,
this is it and it's not a good way to eat. Now for them, just the average person, it's
so much easier for them to come across good healthy foods. So, you can't just look at
the fact that they eat rice and say, how is it possible. You have to consider the whole
picture. You can't break a healthy lifestyle down to just one particular food. You have
to look at everything.
Let's talk about another thing that is an enormous factor and why they are thin in many
places are not. Now in Japan they have something called the Metabol Law. This is a state mandated
waistline check. So, what they have is state mandated waistline checks where they'll come
to your home, they'll come to your workplaces, and what they do is they measure your waistline
and here's what they look for. So, in men, they want you below a 33.5. In women, they
want your waistline to be below 35.4. Now here's what happens if they come into your
workplace, they can find your workplace because a bunch of the employees are obese. The other
thing that they can do is they can tell you if you fall out of this category, you're higher
than these numbers allow you to be, they're going to send you to counseling, they will
send you to support sessions, and also they can even fine you as a result of you being
overweight. Now, many countries are trying to manage the overweight or obesity issues
with their population because it drives the cost of healthcare up so high. Now this is
the Japanese solution to dealing with this obesity issue. So, a lot of people will look
at this and say, well over there they're thin, in America, many people are not. But the other
thing you have to consider is what are they giving up in order to make that happen? And
so how would you feel if somebody was coming to your home and they were measuring your
waist and then they were either sending you to counseling support sessions or sending
you fines because you fell out of the proper measurement? So, we have to take all this
stuff into consideration when we consider why they are thin and many people here are
not, but we can't just break it down to the fact that they eat rice and we don't eat as
much rice here. That's one thing that many people get hung up on and it's a ridiculous
argument.
So, give this video a thumbs up, share this video with your friends and then check out
this video I did over here where I break down the difference between rice and wheat and
which one I would choose if I had to make a choice on the spot.
Now when we look at white rice versus white bread, we’re just going to talk about traditional
white rice, traditional white bread…