Opinion

Changing Japanese Diet

By GWEN A. ROBINSON

I was disturbed to read recently about the significant increase in obesity among young Japanese, particularly schoolchildren. The report didn't surprise me, though, given the society's changing attitude toward nutrition and eating habits. But it's a saddening reminder of the enormous inroads that American-style fast food chains and pizza delivery services have made in Japan.

It's also a telling sign of the pressure-cooker lifestyles that more and more Japanese are dealing with and of the spread of convenience-store culture.

I have always admired the clean, light flavors and cooking styles of traditional Japanese cuisine. The age-old methods of preparing food focus on fresh, seasonal ingredients and subtle tastes. Food is often served raw or lightly broiled or parboiled. Even traditional deep-fried cuisine, such as tempura, requires only the lightest of batters and quick frying in top-quality oil.

Dessert, more often than not, was simply limited to fruit. Such culinary principles surely have helped to keep Japanese people relatively healthy. The nation still boasts the longest average life span among developed countries, but there has been a significant increase in heart disease and diet-related health problems.

The Japanese diet has changed greatly since the end of World War II, when Western food began gaining popularity. As a result, fat consumption has increased dramatically, while the intake of raw and natural foods has dwindled. Some of the changes are due to the natural process of modernization.

Traditional breakfasts, for example, are simply not practical for many people to prepare in the morning. But I think the increasingly frenetic pace of urban life and the erosion of traditional family lifestyles have a lot to do with the breakdown of the traditional diet.

I notice that many mothers rely these days on frozen or ready-prepared items. Their children then develop the taste for cheap, convenient foods such as hamburgers, french fries and takeout pizza. They grow up with little taste for traditional foods ― to the extent that it now seems unfashionable among young people to go out for traditional Japanese food. It's much cooler, I suppose, to go to McDonald's or an Italian restaurant. Even traditional izakaya, which are roughly equivalent to pubs or bistros in Western countries, now serve pizza, croquettes and cheese dishes.

Of course, there's an upside to the evolution in Japanese tastes. Diets are more diversified, there're more meat and dairy products, and young Japanese are also growing taller, as well as bigger. If only there would be more attention paid to balance between the traditional and the modern.

Shukan ST: March 7, 1997

(C) All rights reserved