Various health studies shows that mostly Japanese people are slim. Research has proved that being slim is not genetic, and it depends on various other factors.  According to different health surveys one can find that along with DNA, the secret lies in their eating habits, and other factors in their day to day life style.

The first secret is the Japanese do not often overeat, they believe in quality not quantity. Even the food served in Japanese schools consists of small amount of rice bowl, miso soup, tofu, and vegetables.  Why we found obesity is a problem in the United States, because they are used to eat too much of quantity rather than quality. That’s why weight loss is a major concern of the North Americans.

Secondly, there is a huge amount of peer pressure on women in Japan to stay slim. Japan has societal structure which is based on how one conforms to the norms of the society. People have to do their best to fit comfortably into society, compared to Western societies. Thus, there is a huge amount of peer pressure to adjust and conform. In particular, there is tremendous pressure on women to stay thin and slim.

Thirdly, even though Japanese people spend a lot of time in their office, they still find time for attending fitness clubs, yoga classes for their health. In the weekends too, instead of being a couch potato watching TV programs, they would go on small excursions, hiking, swimming or play sports such as tennis and golf.  This life style is one of the reasons why Japanese people are fit.

The fourth secret is that, they always have healthy food that contains fewer fats and more proteins. Their diet contains fish, soya, rice, vegetables and fruits which has lots of proteins, minerals but very low fat content. They always go for not only healthy but fresh cooked food items that are full of vitamins and minerals needed for the body.  This is just opposite of the frozen food that most of the North Americans eat.

Western diet study asks us to avoid white rice and noodles like the plague, whereas, the Japanese diet contains mostly rice every day and still they are very slim. Actually, rice is nutritious, contains the carbohydrates necessary for the body.  The Japanese green tea contains  extremely low calories, and helps to cut their daily calorie intake and it also burns the fats and facilitate weight loss.  Japanese people avoid tea with milk and sugar as such ingredients add to daily calorie totals.

In addition to diet, exercise is key to maintaining a healthy slim body.  In big cities, people use public transportation, and they would walk from the station to their homes or offices. Even in the suburbs, people would just walk or ride their bicycles to office or shops. Everyday, people take moderate exercise in the form of walking and very often up and down small inclines. In this way, people get more exercise naturally in Japan than in a typical American city by joining expensive fitness clubs. They also save money on transportation and food.

There is indeed no secret about how to get slim fast like the Japanese. The secret of slim and fit Japanese people lies in a combination of factors as mentioned above.  The Japanese weight loss plan lies in consuming less quantity of food which contains less fat and more proteins, giving attention to appearance, and indulging in a lifestyle which includes exercise like walking, and home cooking instead of using frozen foods.