Although you probably don’t think of the Japanese as overweight, the problem is expanding waistlines is affecting people here, too. Trying to take on a problem in a proactive way, the Japanese government issued specific health guidelines for men and women a couple of years ago, which was somehow misreported as “Japan outlaws fat people” by the international press — insert sumo-related joke here. In reality, it’s an optional health consultation service made available to people judged to be metabo (short for “metabolic syndrome”) when they get their annual health check-up. This happened to me during my last check-up, and when the nurse asked if I’d agree to the optional consulting meeting about my metabo problem, I said yes, mainly for the lulz but also because I knew I’d want to blog about it here. I had my meeting with the lady, and she was very nice, bringing various information packets to me and going over the results of my check-up to see if she could offer any advice. Judging from the lady’s initial reaction at seeing me, I’m pretty sure I was the first foreigner who had ever opted into the metabo program.I sometimes have to laugh at the scales they use of course. A “fat” person using the Japanese scale is an adult who doesn’t have to shop at Gap Kids when buying clothes in the U.S., or something like that.
Many Japanese are battling the metabo demon.
