EDUCATION ｜FOOD
Shokuiku: Why Japanese Children Are Born to Develop Healthy Eating Habits
Ichijū-sansai and healthy refreshments keep children fit
Every time I join my daughter’s seasonal event at kindergarten, I’m impressed by how fit the children are. They run around with endless energy like wild deer.
It’s no wonder Japan has managed to keep the incidence of childhood obesity at 5% among children aged 5 to 9, while the U.S. reported 22.7% and Nauru marked the highest at 35.7% in 2016.
WHO declared that “childhood obesity is one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century.” The prevalence is global and rapidly increasing in low and middle-income countries.
How Does Japan Stay Fit?
Modern Japan hasn’t always been so cautious with calorie counting. The flood of fast food chains threatened our traditional eating habits after McDonald’s opened its first store in Tokyo in 1971. Japan today comprises the second largest market for McDonald’s with over 2,800 stores.
In particular, Okinawa experienced a rapid drop in life expectancy from the 1980s to the 2010s. Both men and women topped the average lifespan chart among all 47 prefectures in 1980, but the numbers…
