In Japan, healthy eating lifestyle lessons

Here's a number that might make you put down that second donut: In the United States, nearly 40 percent of all adults are considered obese. In Japan, only the obesity rate one in ten of that.

We are not saying that you will never see a survivor in Japan; you'll just have to look really hard. But compared to Americans, fewer Japanese ever go to the gym. They just move a lot in everyday life. In Tokyo, where few people own cars, they average at least 10,000 steps a day.

And it continues when they get to work. Like many other Japanese companies, Tokyo's Tanita Corporation has a strong focus on personal fitness. Even an ordinary business meeting can be an opportunity to find your steps.

Tanita makes scales, and workers like Ito Takeshi need to use them at least once a month. It's a new level of accountability, but it seems to be working. Takeshi says he lost 15 kilograms (about 35 pounds) after starting Tanita. “That weight loss is due to eating better and walking every day,” he said.

It's just part of the job, according to CEO Senri Tanida. Unlike in America, where people may not want to share their weight or BMI with anyone (let alone their employer), Tanida said, “In Japan, sharing your weight or the number of steps you've taken is not something people really want to hide. So, the barriers to finding Japanese consent are pretty, really low.”

It may seem extreme, but if Tanita doesn't measure and doesn't measure workers over 40, their national health insurance payments go up, so it's an obligation for anyone wearing a Tanita badge.

And that company ID isn't your typical employee badge; measures how many steps you've taken on any given day. It also knows if you haven't weighed yourself in the last month. If you don't, you will be locked out of the building.

Not them

And of course, there is the matter of what the Japanese eat. Traditional Japanese food is a good staple: rice, miso soup, and pickled vegetables. The fermentation of miso and pickles is good for a healthy gut.

Renowned Japanese chef Yoshiharu Doi has cooked us classic Japanese cuisine that combines all three. “It is through this ease and accessibility that we can all stay healthy,” said Doi.

But the Japanese eat more than this. In Tokyo alone, there is a lot of fast food, and junk food. (Trust me: the donuts alone are special.) The pizza is getting more popular, as are the hamburgers, made with premium wagyu beef.

But the Japanese tend to eat very little of these things. And the Japanese do something called this is not the case – eating until they are only 80 percent full.

“They like vegetables at school”

There is also an effort to teach young people healthy eating habits from an early age.

At Shikahamamirai Elementary School, when classes start at 8 a.m., staff are already making lunch in a spotless kitchen, staffed by people dressed as if they work in a sterile microchip factory. Here, school lunches are a big deal, and have been for years.

The Japanese lunch system was actually started after World War II, when the country was devastated and food was scarce. The US official in charge ordered that all school children receive one good free meal a day, and when the Americans left, the Japanese government maintained this policy. Therefore, today there is no hungry child in school.

Most of the food is bought locally, and delivered daily. Vegetables are always a big part of the menu, maybe the biggest. The food is cooked and tasted, and tastes good too.

There is a full-time nutritionist on site at every school campus. Nutritionist at Shikahamamirai, Kawano Komiko, said the parents told him that they cannot make the children eat vegetables at home, but they love vegetables at school.

There is no restaurant here; the lunch ladies carry the food, take it to the classrooms. The principal and vice principal get the first taste, and once they're out, the food ballet begins.

The children wear sterile white smocks and collect food carts, then wheel them back to each classroom and form a line for lunch.

On the menu the day we were there: rice, blanched vegetables, soup, and a special dish, fried squid.

The school says the children get fried food about twice a month. For dessert: an orange quarter.

No one eats until everyone is fed. Thank them briefly, then douzo meshiagare – Bon Appetit!

Everyone eats the same food, including the teachers, and the guests, who may be surprised that the children remove these vegetables from their plates.

But getting kids to eat healthy is more than a skill; it's a job, says Komiko: “The main principle is that, we want to teach children at a young age how to eat so that they can continue those life lessons when they grow up.”

In other words, he says, they want to give their children – and the future of Japan – a taste of healthy life.

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Story produced by John D'Amelio. Editor: Lauren Barnello.

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