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Book: Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat

danfaz

Trying to reach bottom
15 Jan 2005
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I couldn't find this on a search, so my apologies if it's been brought up.

Has anyone read this book yet? Seems like a very practical guide to healthy eating.
 
I haven't read it, but saw it on amazon.com the other day while looking for something else. There seems to be a recurring theme of this book based on different regions/cultures.
 
Yes, you're right. There's a French book with almost the same title that came out last year.
 
Japanese women don't get old ? From what I have seen in Japan, elderly Japanese women tend to age much less gracefully than their Western counterpart. How many of them walk completely bent over with the feet at a 90 degree angle and talk to themselves ? That is what I have seen in Tokyo every single day I stayed there. Can't even remember seeing anything similar in Europe.

As for not getting fat, it's not just the women, but it's changing slowly...
 
Japanese ladies seem to have nicer skin and figures than then Western counterparties as they age.

Don't see many hunched over Japanese women, no more than I did in Hong Kong or England anyway.
 
Oh they do, get fat and old.
A lot of Japanese dishes have less fat in them compared to the dishes like, say French, Italian, Indian or Chinese. I'm not sure how many Japanese people have homecooked meal everyday, though.

They also have a problem with anorexia among young women.
 
Japanese women don't get old???!!!??? The author of that mentioned book hasn't visited Japan, since there are loads of old ladies there... :D The Japanese market is a paradise for foreign companies who want to conquer the Japanese market targeting the old generation with insulin, medicine, and medical equipments.....

As for fat Japanese women, I think I have seen some....maybe a couple...:D
 
All she's saying is that older people are generally healthier more active and out and about (defiantely compared with Americans) which is probably why everyone says they see them more....naturally it isn't meant to be taken literally. ^--^
 
Miss_apollo7 said:
Japanese women don't get old???!!!??? The author of that mentioned book hasn't visited Japan, since there are loads of old ladies there...

Well, she was born and raised in Japan, actually. Like Elizabeth mentioned, it's not to be taken literally. She (the author) emphasizes that a home-cooked Japanese diet contributes to a longer and healthier quality of life.
 
danfaz said:
Well, she was born and raised in Japan, actually. Like Elizabeth mentioned, it's not to be taken literally. She (the author) emphasizes that a home-cooked Japanese diet contributes to a longer and healthier quality of life.

OOOOOOKAY.......Does she offer any good tips for the menu?? Maybe I can be youthfully old too (when the time comes) by reading her book? Or perhaps I should continue loving Japanese food (cooking and eating) so I can dance the funky chicken on my 100 Birthday!!!
 
I work at a book store and we're allowed to borrow hard cover books, so when i saw this one i grabbed it right away. only problem is that i've been insanely busy because of the holiday season, but after i'm done with new years (and my osechi ryouri!!!) i will have time to read it and i can let you all know how it is!
 
Gaijin 06 said:
Japanese ladies seem to have nicer skin and figures than then Western counterparties as they age.

Don't see many hunched over Japanese women, no more than I did in Hong Kong or England anyway.

If you stay in Marunouchi or Shibuya, naturally you won't see many (or even any). Now go to shitamachi areas like Sugamo, Asakusa or Fukagawa, and you'll see that 1/3 of the people are hunched grandmas.
 
Maciamo said:
If you stay in Marunouchi or Shibuya, naturally you won't see many (or even any). Now go to shitamachi areas like Sugamo, Asakusa or Fukagawa, and you'll see that 1/3 of the people are hunched grandmas.


I see quite a few hunched over grandmas, but most of the ones I see are into their 90's. I don't care where you live, you don't see too many 90 year olds standing straight up! Most of the granny's I see are still quite nimble on their feet at that!
 
CC1 said:
I see quite a few hunched over grandmas, but most of the ones I see are into their 90's. I don't care where you live, you don't see too many 90 year olds standing straight up! Most of the granny's I see are still quite nimble on their feet at that!

Those I see are in mostly in their 70's or early 80's. I rarely see hunched grandmas of that age in Europe.
 
Kamakiri said:
I work at a book store and we're allowed to borrow hard cover books, so when i saw this one i grabbed it right away. only problem is that i've been insanely busy because of the holiday season, but after i'm done with new years (and my osechi ryouri!!!) i will have time to read it and i can let you all know how it is!
Is this the Japanese language version ? I didn't realize or expect that it was already out there ...:)
 
Maciamo said:
Those I see are in mostly in their 70's or early 80's. I rarely see hunched grandmas of that age in Europe.
Whether they are hunched over or not at least they are active and independent. Besides, Okinawa longevity is in the top 2 or 3 of any region worldwide so how many are "hunched over" and at what age where you live is a pointless discussion in my opinion. The average height of women that age was 4-5 inches shorter than it would be for anyone born after the war, and especially since the mid-60's, anyway. :eek:
 
Elizabeth said:
Whether they are hunched over or not at least they are active and independent. Besides, Okinawa longevity is in the top 2 or 3 of any region worldwide so how many are "hunched over" and at what age where you live is a pointless discussion in my opinion. The average height of women that age was 4-5 inches shorter than it would be for anyone born after the war, and especially since the mid-60's, anyway. :eek:

I agree with you that it's pointless to try compare hunched people by region. I was just explaining to Gaijin 06 that the number depends a lot on the district of the city where one lives (in my example, Shibuya is frequented mostly by young people, while the 3 areas I cited have a lot of elderly people).

Yet, I would say that I had never seen such hunched people in a developed country before coming to Japan (I saw such people in SE Asia, but those who have carried heavy burdens on their back all their lives, so that they end up disformed), and never imagined that there could be so many of them.

In the neighbourhood of Tokyo where I lived for 4 years, 80% of the residents were over 60 ("窶堙篠ー窶堙篠ー窶伉コ", as my wife says :p), and almost all the women were hunched. This is one of the 5 most shocking things I will remember of Japan (along with poor quality of houses, the ignorance of people about anything not Japanese, the attitude of many Japanese towards WWII and other Asian countries and teenage prostitution to buy brand clothes).
 
Hunched or not, I've never seen as many old people out and around shopping, riding the subway, bikes, etc. as anywhere in Tokyo. Most of the bent over ladies you 'encounter' in the US are invalid, tucked away in nursing homes or require assistance to manage their daily lives.
 
Well, all done reading it. A good read with plenty of tasty recipes and a little history thrown in, as well. The author is a busy exec in NYC that manages to cook these healthy meals. Most of the dietary info is correct, as well. It's nice to see someone emphasize a balanced diet, as opposed to these crazy extreme diets that are the rage now.
 
Maciamo said:
....... Yet, I would say that I had never seen such hunched people in a developed country before coming to Japan (I saw such people in SE Asia, but those who have carried heavy burdens on their back all their lives, so that they end up disformed), and never imagined that there could be so many of them. .....

I've never been to Japan, but on observation, would I be correct in saying that the one fault with the Japanese (and some other SE Asian countries) diet is a deficiency in calcium?

Just a thought.

ニ淡ニ停?。ニ停?
 
Sensuikan San said:
I've never been to Japan, but on observation, would I be correct in saying that the one fault with the Japanese (and some other SE Asian countries) diet is a deficiency in calcium?

Just a thought.

ニ淡ニ停?。ニ停?彈/QUOTE]

Yeah, I have heard of that too. Could it be osteoporosis then ? If it is, it seems that they are not yet aware that treatment exist though. :eek:
 
Gaijin 06 said:
Don't see many hunched over Japanese women, no more than I did in Hong Kong or England anyway.

You don't see many hunched over Japanese women?? What country are you in? I'd never actually seen a fully hunched old woman before in my life until I came to Japan, and now I see them daily.
 
Bucko said:
You don't see many hunched over Japanese women?? What country are you in? I'd never actually seen a fully hunched old woman before in my life until I came to Japan, and now I see them daily.

Ah, I see I am not the only one to have experience that.😌
 
I never said that I didn't experience it...many of the ones that I see are that way from bending and working in the fields...at least that is my observation.
 
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