Keepin' Skinny

A lot is made of the healthy Japanese diet. While the traditional cuisine is super healthy, things have been changing. Instant noodles, fast food, and snacking is beginning to show its effects in Japan. [Some of my kids are kinda chubby. I love it, as I don't feel nearly so heifer-like] But the Japanese are generally still fairly skinny. How? Well, there's an old proverb about only eating til you're 80% full... but that's changing along with the snackables...

I chalk most of it up to the schools. See, all students eat the school lunch from Kindergarten to 9th grade. The Education ministry keeps the stuff fairly healthy, and the portions are kinda small. And what I think is the most important: P.E.

Japanese students have P.E. everyday of their school life. And unlike the U.S. where it's not cool to actually "work out" in P.E., the kids work at it. A good bit of exercise, everyday... sounds pretty healthy to me. And the various field days, National Sports Day, etc... it all adds up.