TokyoShoes: A blog of photography, fashion, footwear, and travel from a Japanophile's perspective
Comments: Scotch and sirloin
Comments
The Americans are definitely FAT. They are trailed in terms of obesity% by one or two country and still the difference is appreciable.
What doesn't appear on the quoted website is the % of overweight persons in each country... and in this particular not-enviable category, the US are in a breakaway with more than 50% of all Americans that are overweighted (while their close neighbours in Canada with a comparable lifestyle are at 30% overweighted. The discrepancy is high and striking between the two countries...
Also, the US are the world-wide leader for obesity in childhood (this is pretty scary!) and with about 20% of diabetes in the population, I call it highly alarming.
I agree with you that the caloric intake is enormous in the States as a result of too big portions and fast-food consumption. C'mon...let's go in the streets to manifest against McDonald's... and if we are hungry, we could stop by a place that I know where they serve the best-ever seven-layer chocolate cake with ice cream and a delicious fudge on the side to pour all over the plate.
I read somewhere (maybe Time?) that the average American restaurant serves up on average almost DOUBLE the amount of food that would be considered 'enough' by modern health standards. That's just sick.
I had the same kind of situation when I visited San Francisco a few months ago. After two years of eating little Japanese portions, I couldn't finish a meal anywhere I went in SF. In most places, for $5 you could get enough food to last you the entire day.
Still, America's obesity problem stretches beyond just food. If only there was some way to measure pure laziness, I'm fairly certain the U.S. would rank #1 in the world. :)
I thought we weren't expected to clean our plates in the States. I thought they just served big portions on the off chance that you might want seconds. I thought that was the American equivalent of how the Japanese over-wrap everything; it makes the customer think they're getting better service. I thought it all went with the Culture of Plenty. Was I wrong?
Nadine - You forgot to mention the tastes and textures of Japanese foods. The US tends to serve up tastless portions that are "super-sized" or "biggie-sized"
It is the Fat, ...and the carbs, ...but mainly it's a lack of moderation. If only the food tasted good enough to stand on it's own.
Maybe if you go from Canada or some other country that has a large percentage of obese people, you don't notice the difference that much. But to go from japan to the U.S., it's like night and day.
No picking on Genessee beer! Genny Light with a Lemon (to give it *some* flavor) is an outstanding Summer beverage!
As far as Canadians bashing American beer, all you have to do is give them an Anchor Steam or some other nonmassproduced beverage against their Molson or Labatts and they'll crumble like a Tim Horton's coffee cup!
Enjoy your stay in Upstate New York. Just stay away from the Golden Anniversary Beer. That stuff is just plain NASTY!
The Americans are definitely FAT. They are trailed in terms of obesity% by one or two country and still the difference is appreciable.
What doesn't appear on the quoted website is the % of overweight persons in each country... and in this particular not-enviable category, the US are in a breakaway with more than 50% of all Americans that are overweighted (while their close neighbours in Canada with a comparable lifestyle are at 30% overweighted. The discrepancy is high and striking between the two countries...
Also, the US are the world-wide leader for obesity in childhood (this is pretty scary!) and with about 20% of diabetes in the population, I call it highly alarming.
I agree with you that the caloric intake is enormous in the States as a result of too big portions and fast-food consumption. C'mon...let's go in the streets to manifest against McDonald's... and if we are hungry, we could stop by a place that I know where they serve the best-ever seven-layer chocolate cake with ice cream and a delicious fudge on the side to pour all over the plate.
Posted by: JB | June 11, 2003 8:37 AM
I read somewhere (maybe Time?) that the average American restaurant serves up on average almost DOUBLE the amount of food that would be considered 'enough' by modern health standards. That's just sick.
I had the same kind of situation when I visited San Francisco a few months ago. After two years of eating little Japanese portions, I couldn't finish a meal anywhere I went in SF. In most places, for $5 you could get enough food to last you the entire day.
Still, America's obesity problem stretches beyond just food. If only there was some way to measure pure laziness, I'm fairly certain the U.S. would rank #1 in the world. :)
Posted by: john tv | June 11, 2003 12:06 PM
I thought we weren't expected to clean our plates in the States. I thought they just served big portions on the off chance that you might want seconds. I thought that was the American equivalent of how the Japanese over-wrap everything; it makes the customer think they're getting better service. I thought it all went with the Culture of Plenty. Was I wrong?
Posted by: Jennifer | June 11, 2003 12:53 PM
Unfortunately there is a lot of hate in this world too.
Posted by: bryce | June 11, 2003 1:08 PM
Nadine - You forgot to mention the tastes and textures of Japanese foods. The US tends to serve up tastless portions that are "super-sized" or "biggie-sized"
It is the Fat, ...and the carbs, ...but mainly it's a lack of moderation. If only the food tasted good enough to stand on it's own.
Posted by: George | June 11, 2003 2:16 PM
Maybe if you go from Canada or some other country that has a large percentage of obese people, you don't notice the difference that much. But to go from japan to the U.S., it's like night and day.
Posted by: Dave | June 11, 2003 9:07 PM
Hey Now!
No picking on Genessee beer! Genny Light with a Lemon (to give it *some* flavor) is an outstanding Summer beverage!
As far as Canadians bashing American beer, all you have to do is give them an Anchor Steam or some other nonmassproduced beverage against their Molson or Labatts and they'll crumble like a Tim Horton's coffee cup!
Enjoy your stay in Upstate New York. Just stay away from the Golden Anniversary Beer. That stuff is just plain NASTY!
Posted by: Phildozer | June 11, 2003 10:28 PM