WHY ARE FEW PEOPLE OBESITY IN JAPAN?

Japan is a country with relatively few overweight children, one of the reasons children here are healthy is because they are taught about nutrition early in school.

Feeding young children too many sweets has led to obesity. It is estimated that 1 in 6 children under the age of 5, or about 40 million children in this age group worldwide, are overweight. Overweight children tend to become obese adults. Therefore, healthy eating habits should start at a young age. Japan is a country that places great importance on this issue.

“Our aim is to show children that food doesn’t just come from supermarkets, this teaches them to love nature,” said teacher Hideko Shirai.

Harvest day at Kodaira Elementary School in Tokyo can be a nightmare for the cleaning staff, but for teacher Hideko Shirai it is a huge success. She teaches nutrition, a subject taught in schools across Japan.

First, the children will take a closer look at the fruits of their labor. In addition to growing their own vegetables, the school has signed contracts with farmers in the suburbs to provide fresh vegetables. A lunch will include everything the children have harvested previously.

Mr. Ton Koichiro Oku – Chef shared: “To be honest, when I was in school, the meals were quite bad. But that was a long time ago, now things have changed, school meals have improved a lot”.

Childhood obesity rates in Japan are lower than in other industrialized countries. Today’s meal is about 600 calories. The children usually eat everything on their plates. “It’s great that there are so many hard-working people and farmers who grow delicious vegetables for us,” said one student.

A standard school meal in Japan includes starch, protein, vegetables and milk. Teachers post photos of the meals on the school website, along with a list of foods and their health benefits, and even pictures of students' harvest days.

“We don’t have a like button on the website, but when I talk to parents, they often mention the school meals, they say how fun the meals are, the children express their satisfaction with the food. The garden-to-table project is a great success,” said Hideko Shirai.