Asian people should be Careful about Obesity

Right now, I am suffering from obesity and this is a very bad thing. It has destroyed my productivity a lot and I have to spend lot of money also. I am now very serious to fight back obesity and go back to normal weight and I am hopeful that I will be able to do so within this year. However, I am very worried about the Asian people because the economies of most of the Asian countries are growing very rapidly. It means that the average income of people increasing and food will be easier to buy.

On the other hand, American fast food comapnies like Pizza hut and McDonalds are perhaps opening brunches in Asian countries very aggressively and all the time in satellite TV channels, I can find advertisements of McDonalds and Pizza Hut. That is why, I am worried for the health of Asian people and I think that in every country there should be a campaign against eating meat.

In South Asia, South East Asia and East Asian countries many people still consume a lot of fish and fish is much better than meat when it comes to maintaining a healthy body. That is why, I am so concerned and I want that the media in each country in Asia start a campaign to promote fish in stead of meat. 

Japanese companies are becoming calory conscious

45 year old Keiji Okuda works in Matsushita Electric Industrial Company (TYO: 6752). For the last few years, he has stopped riding trains and walks for forty minutes on his way to office. He also goes to the gym three days a week and eats buckwheat noodles for lunch. Over the years, Keiji Okuda last 42 pounds. Keiji Okuda is the new breed of Japan’s white collar workers who are conscious about their health. Yes, now you can stop picturing major CEOs and executives with large waistlines. Good physique is becoming a major image element in the corporate world. More over, because of the growing medical expenses, big Japanese companies are introducing various dieting, weight loss and exercise programs and imposing new regulations on their employees to maintain better health. CNN.com reports:

Many corporations have lunchtime aerobics sessions and cafeterias with low-calorie food, are handing out free pedometers and taking other measures to fight the latest imported buzzword: "metaboh," short for "metabolic syndrome" _ the cluster of symptoms linked with obesity, high cholesterol and blood sugar, large waistlines and risks of heart disease.

The government initiative, which kicked in April 1, requires companies to have workers aged 40 to 74 take up the battle of the bulge by requiring waist measurements at health checkups _ part of the nation's larger efforts to guard against the ballooning costs of medical care, estimated at $285 billion a year.

Obesity and fatness is still not a big issue in Japan like it is in the USA. The major reason behind this is the Japanese foods such as rice, fish, and vegetables which do not add many calories. With the import of fast foods, and western foods that require meats, are creating obesity and increasing weight.

Employees of the companies that do not shape up will be penalized by the government. The company will pay bigger portion of the annual $95 billion health care insurance for aging people.

Related article:

CNN

Japan

obesity

fat

fastfood