Japanese women and body image, fat

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I saw this video on youtube, basically its a show where Japanese women who are too overweight to fit into their clothes come on the show to loose weight through a series of (some of which are rather bizarre) methods of weight loss;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WLUWNSQygg


Certain things though which struck me about the show were;

a. The show makes a big comedic deal about the girls weight by putting in cartoon pictures of walruses and making cartoon like noises like bouncing noises, some of the comments from the audience are unnecessary and probably very hurtful to the fat girls self esteem, for example "look like her gut is about to start talking!".
As much as i don't really sympathise that much for people that become obese through simple gluttony, i don't think its right to make fun of such people either- they still deserve respect even if their weight problems are their own fault. In general, i was shocked at the way the show depicted the girls, especially since it portends the image of being professional.

b. I do not think the show was spreading the right messages to japanese women who have weight problems in general society- the show used a load of quick fit cures for weight loss, some of which were obviously painful and put the girls in a lot of discomfort; i hardly think this is a responsible way to depict a healthy course towards weight loss, and it is also known that rapid weight loss can be very bad for your health. Whatever happened to good old fashioned regular daily excercise and a healthy diet high in fruit and veg and low in animal products or fatty high calorie foods etc? Are Japanese people interested in healthy dieting and exercise approach to achieve a good BMI and physique?



What are your thoughts on this video?

[epigene]

I haven't had the time to see the video all the way through, but after seeing the first two women being checked for weigh, body mass, etc., I say this is basically a comedy show. I don't recognize the first woman (because I don't watch much TV) but know that the rest of the women in the show are comediennes who willingly show off their excess fat for laughs.

As for quirky diet and weight-loss programs, there are lots of them here in Japan (as elsewhere), and it is totally up to the viewer to believe them or not.

That's all for now, and I'll be back to check out the rest of the video when I have the time... :relief:

[Tokis-Phoenix]

So it really is a clearly comical show? I have a very basic understanding of japanese so i was not able to understand a lot of what was being said and so i was not sure how to interperate it exactly.

[pipokun]

How old, do you think, is she? Just wondering...

[nice gaijin]

yeah, that's a comedy show, I recognize the ladies in the "audience." The "pseudo-documentary" is more pseudo than documentary. Their sparse subtitling is somewhat accurate, but they don't bother to explain the context of the show, which is just as bad as making stuff up.

How old, do you think, is she? Just wondering...hard to tell, the first girl looks a bit older, maybe in mid-late thirties. The second girl looked much younger, but I suck at guessing age.

And did you see macha at the end? wow! What a difference a hairstyle makes.

[bakaKanadajin]

I agree with your comments wholeheartedly that rapid or dangerous weight loss for the simple purpose of visual satisfaction and not 'appearing' fat regardless of health risks is no good.

But I admire the Japanese aesthetic towards delicate and slim features as it applies to women, that is afterall what makes them so physically desireable to men with an interest in Japanese women. The Japanese attitude of moderation and a traditionally healthy diet and active lifestyle with lots of biking and walking has helped maintain this. Practically speaking (beyond all cultural appreciation and discussions of beautiful/not beautiful), it has contributed to longer life spans, increased quality of life, etc. But the over-refined and processed foods of today's Western diet which are creeping into Japanese culture are creating an imbalance and causing obesity and disease to increase.

So to combat this I think the best thing would be if they actually launched a campaign designed to celebrate all of this traditional Japanese aesthetic and way of life rather than introduce quick fix solutions. I think if anyone was suited to implement a simple yet comprehensive daily diet and wellness routine it'd be the Japanese. Their cell phone plans for example are so incredibly complex, by comparison the same system here would confuse the heck out of people. It's like we don't think over here anymore, we can't remember as much and don't try to understand as much as we should. We're being dumbed down, simplified, etc. On construction sites everyone takes 10 mins in the morning to warm up, group exercise, make the effort, etc., and they understand why its important and therefore everyone participates. Work-related injuries are lower therefore and there's less downtime and cost for the company. Over here people are out of shape but don't care. They're throwing out their backs, taking pills up the ying yang and don't really care to change their habits or try to approach the situation wholistically and improve their way of life.

In Japan, I think on the whole, the small things you have to do daily basis to promote health naturally over time would go over well and people would be able to actually remember to do these things and use their will power. Japan doesn't strike me as the kind of lazy place where quick easy fixes are really needed, I think most ousiders agree the Japanese have a pretty serious work ethic and resolve, the people just need the right information but clearly they aren't getting it.