Can you be a JET if you're fat?
While they answer is obviously "YES YOU CAN" it is true that most Japanese companies ask for photos to be submitted with the resume. In my country, asking for a photo along with the resume is something you could get sued for discrimination over. Asking age, race and marital status are often also not in good form. In Japan, though, all of those things are regularly required disclosures.
(They even ask about what blood type you are, leading to a kind of discrimination that people call Buri-Hara. In case you didn't know, blood types are to Japan as horoscopes are to the West. Type As are sensitive perfectionists but overanxious; Type Bs are cheerful but eccentric and selfish; Os are curious, generous but stubborn; and ABs are arty but mysterious and unpredictable. Hmm.)
I'm going to change the topic slightly now to how different countries feel shame over different things. This is obvious, but it's interesting.
I know some Japanese girls who went to study abroad in America for four months. When they came back and talked to me, they told me that one thing they were very ashamed of was that they hardly knew anything about history or politics; even Japanese history was a blank for them. American people asked their opinions about things and not only did they not have an opinion, but they'd never even heard of basic historical/political events. When they got back to Japan, they were motivated to study and learn about their own country so that they wouldn't feel shame when they travel.
That made me think about how different countries feel shame over different things.
This, to me, is very interesting.
In some countries (USA, Australia, England, Canada, NZ) many people are hugely obese and feel no shame whatever about it. (In the JET forum I posted above, one girls wrote, "I'd rather be a size 10 eating cake than a size 2 eating carrots") In Western countries, there is no shame in being fat and you hardly ever see really skinny people at all. In Japan, there is a huge social stigma to being fat and though I see lots of chubby people in Japan, there is a huge, huge pressure to lose the weight in Japan. Men and women are regularly shamed by their friends and family. In the West, telling someone they got fat is just not done at all.
The opposite is also true. Japanese people usually feel no shame at all about not knowing what the Berlin Wall was or who Vietnam fought against in the Vietnam war. There is also no shame in not voting in an election or not knowing all the words to your own national anthem. (I have personally witnessed all of these examples by more than one person) But there is a huge shame associated with being fat.
If you live in a Western country, saying "I don't know who the vice president of my country is" or "I have never heard of Communism" or "When was World War One?" will bring looks of astonished disgust. In Western countries, it's very shameful not be ignorant of basic things concerning history / politics / philosophy. You don't have to have read Aristotle, but if you have no idea what an "Aristotle" even is and have never even read the name, people will think you're retarded. In fact, being clueless about basic things / having no opinion at all about things that happen in your own country is so shameful that many people find it hard to say, "I don't know" and end up looking like a fool.
I will say that I think a little bit of shame sometimes is a good thing.
Half the time people do good things, shame is the motivating factor.
(Though I know that shame motivates a lot of negative behavior, too. Botox, etc)
If you think about it, you'll see that it's true.
-Some people buy hybrid cars less out of concern for the environment than of concern over looking like an ignorant, selfish person in front of their neighbors.
-Some people stop eating fattening fast food or cake less out of concern for their health than of concern over looking like a person with no self-control.
-Some people take a shower / wear deodorant not because they love being clean but because they don't want their neighbors to think that they are filthy slobs.
-Some people mow the lawn not because they love it but because they don't want people to think that they are lazy or thoughtless.-Nobody likes recycling. Nobody likes getting a blood test. Nobody likes safe sex. Nobody likes studying hard for an exam they're not interested in. Some people do these things because they're good or healthy things to do. Others do it because of societal pressure (SHAME) and without shame, there would be far less order in our societies.
Shame is a huge motivational factor and it is interesting to see that people are shamed for different things depending on their country.
Please read this post carefully.
I don't want any offended people commenting about things I didn't write.
30 comments:
You wrote: "...or not knowing who Vietnam fought against in the Vietnam war."
Ooops, sounds like *you* don't know. Answer: It was North Vietnam against South Vietnam. North Vietnam supported by Soviet China and South Vietnam supported by the U.S.
I was there.
I personally have never had anything like that, because my husband actually does know stuff about Japanese history from paying attention during school, but the thing is that the Japanese don't study anything about the rest of the world's history. They don't know that making a picture of Muhammad will piss off a lot of Arabs, they don't know about general Greek history, they've never seen things from the Iliad outside of Troy with Brad Pitt-- they just aren't taught these things, and it's really sad.
I get that Europe's history didn't shape Japan's, but it's still important to study things about the rest of the world. Even in my high school we had a big variety of classes concerning world religions, history and world literature courses. We could learn anything, but for some reason, Japan just doesn't care.
Interesting - but I don't think you can say there is *no* shame attached to being overweight in Western countries. Having grown up overweight, I can say there definitely is. While there are some people who are happy regardless of size, I'd say they'd mostly come to that point through a lot of work on self acceptance.
Different cultures express their opinions in a different ways. You might have family, friends etc telling you that you are overweight in Japan but I can't imagine you're likely to have strangers yelling out "fat pig" (or much worse) from a passing cars.
The main difference would be the point at which you are considered overweight. A size 10 (size 14 in Australia) isn't considered that big here but it would be by Japanese standards.
Btw most Western countries *don't* have a vice president!
I think you're being just a tad pessimistic. I think it's less about shame and more about fear. Fear of not being acceptable in "mainstream" eyes. Shame is a much different thing. To me, shame is what makes you eat the fast food that you loathe, but fear (or possibly a healthy conscious) is what drives you away.
Also, not to be nitpicky, but a size 10 is hardly obese. And there is still a lot of stigma for being fat in Western countries. I'm sure it's nothing compared to Japan, but there still is a lot of discrimination and negativity towards larger people that is mostly unwarranted.
Thank you for your thoughts and comparisons. Definitely something to mull over this morning.
This was a very good post, thanks!
"I'd rather be a size 10 eating cake than a size 2 eating carrots" Since when was size 10 fat?
When I lived in Japan (2002-2004) as a student at Waseda University, I was surprised about the lack of outside knowledge that many of the people I met had. Also, it was very strange to hear these smart Japanese women talk about how beautiful airline attendants were and how they wished they could be one but, they were too fat or not good looking enough. These women went to one of the top universities in the country. You'd never hear a woman who went to Oxford, Harvard or Yale talking like that. About the obesity problem in the west...A lot of it has to do with the socioeconomic climate of where the people live. When you go into a grocery store and chips are cheaper then fresh fruit and veg something is horribly wrong. Processed foods are so much a part of our diet, with hidden calories like corn syrup and additives that we don't know what kind of damage they do. I think it's wrong to "shame" someone for being this way or that. I think people need to work more on their own selves and have a little compassion for people before they open their maw to judge others.
Ha. Sorry about the way I wrote that. I meant that I've met two people here who had never heard about America's involvement in the Vietnam war.
Shame in my definition is something that makes you so self-conscious that you don't do it or you avoid it as much as possible. I don't think there is much shame attached to being fat in Western countries because so many people are fat. If there was so much shame, fat people would be rare and limited (unless they had a thyroid disease or some medical problem.) In Japan, there is a huge shame associated with being fat. That doesn't mean there are no fat people, but it means that most fat people become thin after feeling so much societal pressure.
In Japan, there is absolutely nothing wrong with telling someone they are fat and they need to lose weight. I found this really shocking at first because in the west, people get offended over that.
dia los diy
Totally agree with you!
"Processed foods are so much a part of our diet, with hidden calories like corn syrup and additives that we don't know what kind of damage they do."
BUT
Don't you think that everyone knows by now? Who doesn't understand that chips make you fat?? I think everyone understands.
Also, I think that a little shame is healthy. Shame can make you healthier. I don't eat chips and ice cream and okonomiyaki for dinner because I know it's not healthy and I know it's bad for my heart and I don't want to get fat because I'd become really shy if I were fat. That is healthy shame, in my opinion.
What does a size ten even look like? It seems like all the sizes are getting smaller and the people are getting bigger. In canadian stores, there is a size 000. WHAT?
I just like the old fashioned S M L sizes.
In dress size, I am 34 but that's in Euro or Japanese size. I have no idea what I am in Canada because depending on what store I go to, I am everything from some weird multiple zero size to size 5.
Just give me S M L, thanks.
As other commentators have mentioned people are fat for many different reasons. 1 of them is socio-economic, which makes poor people fat because they can only afford junk food and don't have as much education about nutrition. Wanna know why I'm fat? I've never mentioned this on my blog before because my mum reads it, but here goes. My mum was a single mum who was also a student. We never had any money. Up until I was 12 I was a healthy size, sometimes we went without food for a day or 2 but my mum cooked us healthy food with a lot of vegetables. Suddenly when I was 12 and my sister was 10 my mum had a break down. She became depressed and anorexic, not to mention started taking drugs and became addicted to gambling. As punishment to us for being there ruining her life (well looking back that is what we feel it was subconsciously) she fed us only pizza every single night for the next few years. Yes EVERY NIGHT. It was also the only meal we ate every day, it was impossible to get money of her to go to the supermarket, or for school lunches. She would go insane if we asked. At this time she would also disappear for days on end. So at 12 I was responsible for getting my sister to primary school and making sure she did her homework. On those days she sometimes left money so we would go buy food other than pizza, but 1 time we got so hungry because she didn't leave any money we ate lip gloss. When I met my now husband at 16 and brought him back to this household, well that was the 1st time I found out this wasn't normal. I lost weight because he would take me to his parents house where normal healthy food was cooked. I then moved out of home at 16 and have continued to eat reasonably healthily, but the damage has been done, 4 years of only pizza (and it was ONLY cheesy crust pizza from pizza hut, the most unhealthy pizza of all, which I can never ever eat again) really stuffs you up. So yeah people are fat for different reasons. My reason is of the extreme kind. We have found out recently neighbours debated about sending social services over to our house, but they never did. Who knows what could have happened. My mum is fine now btw, we just don't talk about the past...Anyway maybe just read this and not publish it...just wanted to let you know people are fat for soooo many more reasons than just eating junk food mindlessly. Children can't help what they are given.
I must say, a size ten is not fat, and certainly not 'hugely obese' (I'm not assuming you were implying such, but it did come across that way.) Everyone's body type is different. For many women a size ten or, yes sometimes even 12 is perfectly healthy (and super sexy to boot, if Monroe's reported measurements are to be believed.) The problem is that there is a disturbing societal expectation that we should forever maintain the body of a 15 year old girl. I would also completely disagree that the west has 'no shame' about being overweight. Poor body image is a HUGE problem in the west, especially for women. America has a love/hate relationship with food that, I believe, contributes greatly to the obesity and self-image problems. We are obsessed with "good" and "bad" foods and "sinful indulgences." And while in the west it would be seen as cruel for a mother to tell her daughter she's "getting too fat" there is a definite 'secret shame' that so many people carry about their appearance. Our obsession with perfection is clearly reflected in our media; it is completely saturated with images that represent virtually no one. We put these altered images of 'perfection' up on a pedestal and then feel like failures because we can't emulate it, which, as you said, can motivate bad behavior (like overeating!)
I think it's far too simplistic to say 'well if people felt shame about being fat then they would not be fat. ' To say that a person wouldn't do something because they feel shame is just simply not true - look at drug addicts, pedophiles, compulsive gamblers, etc. Shame can actually trigger further destructive behavior. Also, as another person touched on, there are cultural, educational, economic and many other factors that play a big role in the health of a nation. "When you go into a grocery store and chips are cheaper then fresh fruit and Veg something is horribly wrong." So many Americans have grown up on shit food and they honestly don't always know better. There are some who honestly don't understand why they haven't lost weight because they've switched to diet soda and 'trans-fat free' chips. There's a lot of nutritional ignorance out there. Everyone SHOULD know better by now, but they don't. Education is a privilege. Even when they do know better, it's hard to completely change your relationship with food after being one way for 30 years. I suspect that Asian countries have naturally healthier eating habits, and for reasons other than 'shame about getting fat. '
I would say overall, the western world (or America, at least) has a very conflicted, complicated relationship with food, weight, and beauty. It's "the elephant in the room" so to speak (ugh not a pun.)
Anyways, very interesting observations. I really enjoy your blog.
Ps. it has occurred to me that Canadian/European sizing is different than in the US...? In which case, ignore the first part of my comment :)
i agree with the person who said the average differences in size in east vs. west is not so much a product of "shame". i inherited an unhealthy lifestyle: i can't afford to buy chemical and additive-free foods but don't have the time to cook anything, anyway. (and continuing the additive discussion, people know hfcs is bad, but not even i know what all it's in, 'cause it's in EVERYTHING practically. unavoidable. we have been manipulated by our government into accepting it.) also nowhere i need to be is within walking distance and there is no public transport so i drive, etc. and if i don't have time/energy to cook how could i do hardcore exercise? despite that, i've managed to stay at about 100 pounds for years (a dress size 2 if that helps your size 10 reference); even then i frequently feel ashamed for being a fatty though i'm pretty sure i'm not by most standards. (i live in the united states, incidentally, but lived in japan for about half a year)
i think people worldwide feel similar shame in regards to their bodies, but you're right that japan is far less fat-friendly. the issue might be the lack of an obsession with "political correctness" in japan.
that all said i found your thoughts extremely interesting!! shame as a culture study.
"I'd rather be a size 10 eating cake than a size 2 eating carrots."
Hi, that's me. I also said "Not that there's anything wrong with carrots," too though. It's weird, I've been apologising for that thread on GEG too. My own little 15 minutes of fame, and it's for a shitty reason. I feel like Kim Kardashian... Ass included.
I wear a size 10 in dress sizes in most stores, which is technically a medium. I'm definitely a medium, rarely a small, up top. I'm usually a large below, though RARELY a medium.
To me, 10 isn't fat. I used to be a 14, so it feels pretty ok to me. I'd like to be a 6 some day (that's an all-over small), but sorry... I like cake. I don't eat Snickers or Twinkies or Doritos, but I like cake, and I love to bake. Especially lemon tarts, my current specialty.
Anyway, I'm actually posting because I wanted to say I agree with you. That's why I asked the forum if a woman of my size would be shamed in Japan... Because I'm aware of the difference between what is usually considered normal and passably attractive in Canada (size 10), and what fills that niche in Japan (North American size 4, probably).
If I do get accepted into JET, I'll try to lose weight before leaving... But I won't do it by totally cutting out cake.
I'm around size 8 right now, I have often been around 10. If that clears it up.
The hidden calories thing is trickier than knowing that chips make you fat. I'm American, the fat capital of the world from what I gather. Have you ever read one of those "Worst Foods in America" articles? It's really upsetting what the food industry does to cut their costs using cheap horrible fatsplosive ingredients/methods and then bring in profits by marketing things as healthy. You might know cookies for breakfast will make you fat, but would you expect a veggie sandwich to be over 1,106cal with 56g of fat? Or a proclaimed "kid's meal" in a family restaurant to have 1,110cal and 82g of fat? Or any dinner salad, ever, to be over 1,200 calories? Call me stupid, but I wouldn't. One thing I love about Japan is that, not always but often, there is nutritional information on menus -- even for desserts. Many American restaurants are still refusing to disclose nutritional information. I truly don't think many Americans realized how horrible the American diet had become until it was too late. I know most people wouldn't order that kid's meal for their child if they knew it was so incredibly bad for them -- I mean that's like 5 candy bars!
And even when people do know that chips make you fat, there are a lot of reasons people end up eating poorly. In America, junk food and processed food is cheap. It can be really hard to feed a family with little money and little time. Even if you do manage that, snacks and treats remain one of the more affordable luxuries you can have when you're broke, and it can be hard to keep that from becoming a bad habit when things are bleak and a family trip for fast food milkshakes cheers everyone up for cheap. On top of all of that, the collective psychology around food, health, diet, exercise, etc. has just gotten so wack in America, and further complicated by things like weight-loss clinics funding obesity research, anorexia-phobia making DIET a dirty word, on and on and on.
I feel bad because this isn't even the point of your post, but I read the comments and couldn't help responding so I hope you can forgive me! I have a lot of friends and family who are various degrees of overweight, and I really believe that as obvious and intuitive healthy habits may seem to some, the road to overeating and weight gain can be a lot weirder and sneakier and difficult to get out of for others. Nobody really wants to be fat and if it were easy for everyone not to be, well. I think this is really interesting though, I'm always thinking about the reasons Japan and other places are so skinny and America is so fat, and I do think about the shame thing though I don't think it's quite as big a factor.
And P.S. RELATEDLY I am with you on the cluelessness! I actually never noticed or realized until this year. I guess I'm out in the backwoods, too, but there have been a couple of times when I mentioned something political/historical casually and was met with a blank stare and I was like, "...whaaaat?"
Hi Julie!
Sorry it took me so long to get back to you! I lost your email address so I was not able to send you my questions. Please send it again if you can!
By the way, this post is great. I totally know what you mean when you say that so many brilliant women in Japan sort of dumb-down their intelligence when they say they don't really know much about politics / history and are obsessed with their weight. I lived through this kind of behavior from lots of my Japanese female friends and did not understand why they did this. A lot of them responded with, "We are not strong like American women." What does that even mean?
In any case, I look forward to hearing from you!
Best,
Tanya
I can totally relate to that experience of people--even strangers--going up to you, or someone you know, and commenting on your weight in Asian countries. I found it really shocking at first, especially since most of it was towards my ten-year-old cousin. When I went to visit family in the Philippines and we'd see acquaintances or distant family members they would constantly say "Wow, you got really fat," and tell her not to eat this or that at meals. And if she had been unaffected by it, maybe I would not have been so upset, but I could see that they were hurting her feelings 'cos after every comment she would get quiet--and she's a chatterbox.
it's absolutely untrue that there is 'no' shame in the West for being obese. shame never did much of anything for preventing obesity, or anything else affected by psychology, biological drives, learned behaviors, addiction, except make those affected more unhappy, less willing to get help for fear of stigma, etc. yes, everyone knows about corn syrup and unhealthy additives and is still fat. would you judge a thin person so much for knowing that we need x amount of cardio exercise every single day ideally, but not doing it? of course most fat in the West isn't glandular or genetic in nature--not to the extent that we see it. we know that condoms and testing can help prevent HIV spreading, but spread it still does. there are always more factors at work; it isn't as black and white as you make it seem, and to do so is dismissive and judgmental. Western weight is intimately tied with lifestyle, occupation, automobiles, stress, and shifted priorities. just because it is common to be overweight doesn't mean there's no shame--look at the obsession in the media, heck, everywhere, and say honestly that there's no shame and horror in how people refer to fat. ask anyone what it was like to grow up fat; they'll tell you. it isn't all about "laziness", which is what you seem to be communicating. i found this post very interesting, but as a thin person even i know that saying there's no shame about fat in the West is devastatingly ignorant.
i just have to say that the difference between the Western idea of "fat" and the Asian (mainly Japanese, Korean, Chinese) idea of "fat".
I have read this interesting post about "What Koreans consider fat" (http://www.allkpop.com/index.php/full_story/what_koreans_consider_fat/) and you might want to read it. The celebrities Koreans think are fat are so-not-fat, in my opinion. There's also another post about a Korean pop idol "Tiffany is bursting out of her pants" (http://www.allkpop.com/index.php/full_story/tiffany_is_bursting_out_of_her_pants/) and maybe the girl does have some flabs but she's nowhere near gigantic.
The post also tackles about the definition of beauty in Korea re: small face, face smaller than a CD. Some celebrities with huge heads/faces are getting a lot of flack for having a big head, can you believe it?
Anyway, I wanted to ask if maybe you can also talk about Japan; definition of beauty, beauty standards, plastic or cosmetic surgery.
I have noticed that a lot of Japanese celebrities do not care for straight perfect teeth. Some girls are even complimented as "cute" when one of their teeth are sort of sticking out. Is this the norm in Japan?
Hey, I love to recycle! I don't do it out of shame. I love it so much, even, that I've stopped recycling plastic.
It sounds strange, being from North America and surrounded constantly by it, but I think that plastic is disgusting. Gasoline, Roads, Roofing Shingles, Rubber, Vasoline, Candles - way too many things are made out of oil, and plastic is the most prolific.
My philosophical aversion to oil products isn't my only concern, though. I think that the overall environmental impact of the processing of plastic (whether brand-new or recycled) is far too detrimental to continue into the future.
I equate it to recent ad campaigns by coal companies to promote "clean coal" energy. Like in the recent economic recession companies are only looking out for themselves in this environmental crisis: A factory in Nova Scotia will close to save a company a few bucks (read: job losses due to recession, recession due to job losses). A coal company is not going to close its doors because it is dangerous to the environment.
Hmm. I appear to have ranted...
Just come across your lovely blog! As someone who lived in Japan until a couple of years ago and has a Japanese partner I do agree with what you're saying in your posts. it's hard to find a coherent blog about Japan these days...
SEBA 78641
I really enjoyed this post because I totally agree! It seems impossible to not have your actions influenced by the want to avoid feeling shame. From the other comments, it seems like everyone could agree, but with a slight tweaking of the terms involved, ha ha. Like for me, I'd feel awkward saying I do the things I enjoy, like eating healthy and studying hard, in order to avoid the shame of not doing these things. But I can less reluctantly admit that I'm proud when I accomplish these things.. In that perspective, "pride" and "shame" are just on the opposite ends of the same spectrum.
I also realize there are a lot of other factors that motivate people to do the things that they enjoy, but I'm always skeptical when someone tries to claim that "shame" or "pride" doesn't motivate them at all.
Hayley, thanks for the awesome post and I'm truly sorry to hear about that. I'm glad that you and your mother are on good terms, though.
I actually think that being skinny or fat had nothing to do with being attractive or sexy. I think that that is all in how people carry themselves and whether or not they're funny and adventurous.
For the record, I'm not hitting on you, but I think you're gorgeous and you have such great style and always look like you're having the best time in pictures. So I think you're sexier than some boring twig in tacky Juicy Couture who isn't having any fun in life.
There are pretty skinny girls and pretty fat girls and all kinds of unattractive slim girls and large girls. Confidence is the main difference.
If you like yourself and you like your body and you have a good style and a personality that is fun, no matter how big you are you will be pretty sexy.
Maybe my definition of shame is different than a lot of your ideas of it. For me, if I feel total shame over doing /not doing something, I stop / start doing it.
I would feel totally shamed to live in Japan for a year and not speak / read any Japanese. That is a big motivation for my studying. I would personally have felt shamed not to graduate from a university, and that's another reason why I kept it up even though it was difficult sometimes. I would personally feel shy if I gained a lot of weight, which is why I don't eat fast food or artificial sweets or big dinners. I would personally feel shame over spending 400 dollars on a clothing item which is why I don't buy See By Chloe even though I love it. (PLEASE BUY IT FOR ME)
I remember when I was 18 feeling shamed that I didn't know what the capital city of Norway was. I buckled down and learned capital cities, flags and some history. Now whenever anyone tells me where they're from, I usually know a bit about their country.
In this way, A BIT OF shame has been a good thing in my life. It motivates me to be the kind of person I want to be without being lazy.
Maybe I just can't deal with shame well. If I feel it, I have to change whatever it is immediately. Maybe I'm weaker than some of you guys.
@ Blushing Blood
Don't dye your hair!! You look like Jane Birkin.
I know size 10 is/shouldn't be too fat since it is a medium in the US but for most Asian countries, it is fat. Size 10 measurements correspond to XL or XXL in Asian sizes.
Kira Petersson-Martin said...
"Because I'm aware of the difference between what is usually considered normal and passably attractive in Canada (size 10), and what fills that niche in Japan (North American size 4, probably)."
I'm sorry to say but in Japan, a size 4 may be considered fat if that person is short.
In Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, even the Philippines, being small matters. Or else, you won't fit in anything. And that can be embarrassing.
Another factor would be people won't hesitate to tell you you are fat or you should not eat or you should exercise IN PUBLIC, in front of people you may or may not know. Having to deal with these instances, most people are forced to be thin and stay thin or else "lose their face".
I suppose you can correlate this with how people in Korea and Japan, at least the major cities, are well put-together. They take extra care in their appearance because they are vain like that. Living in such a society, if you don't want to stick out, you try to blend in by doing what most people do.
In most East Asian countries (China, Korea, Japan), it is important to belong to the society, to a group. The other group members and people in the same society are judged by you so you, in order to belong, will try to not bring shame to the group or the society or family.
Beth,
A few people were talking to me about one thing that surprised me when I came to Japan and I mentioned that even though I'd read it, I was surprised to see that Buddhist sign that looks like a swastika all over the buildings and maps in Japan. I guess it just made me do a double-take in the first few days I came.
A girl in the group had a blank look on her face and had no idea what we were talking about. One guy explained that the swastika was that symbol on the nazi flag... you know, during world war two... in germany ... hitler ... and she had no clue. Keep in mind that it wasn't a language barrier thing because they spoke in Japanese to her. They also drew pictures so that she could see what it was. In the end, she just giggled and said that she always got bored in history class.
That was the first big shock about this.
The obesity capital of the world isn't America anymore. It's Australia now.
They "won" last year.
Throughout my entire stay in Japan I was always slightly in awe of how thin everyone was compared to Americans. At first I thought everyone just ate healthier and was more physically active. As the year progressed and I became close enough with Japanese people to ask them, and I realized this wasn't the case at all.
Of course, there are quite a few Japanese people who do eat healthy and exercise, but many of them stay thin by starving themselves or living off of a diet of coffee and cigarettes.
I think it's important to remember that just because someone is thin doesn't necessarily mean he or she is healthy. My father's cousin lived on fried chicken and beer and was as thin as rail due to a fast metabolism and genetics. However he didn't exercise and obviously wasn't healthy and dropped dead of a heart attack before he was 50.
I think people often equate thinness with being healthy and it's not always the case. With an obese person, you can just look at him and know he’s unhealthy; obviously we can’t do the same with a thin person.
I exercise regularly and maintain a healthy diet and am satisfied with my size. I am curvy but slim and for a few years in high school I was way to thin and lost all of my curves but ended up looking disgustingly anorexic. I now know that being "pin thin" is not in my genetic makeup and no longer strive to be that thin b/c it's NOT healthy for me personally. A realization that took me years to arrive at.
Anyways, if you're interested in organic and healthy food I recommend reading "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver. It's a really good non-fiction book that I'm reading at the moment about the author who, along with her family, lives off what she grows on her farm of buys at the local farmer’s market.
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