The Psychology Behind Why Japanese People Are So Healthy

Visit a McDonald’s in Japan and you’ll understand why

Kaki Okumura
Heated
Published in
4 min readMay 28, 2020

--

Photo: Okinawa Soba (Rob) via Flickr/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Whenever I talk to someone who has visited Japan, an ex-pat who has lived there or a tourist just passing by, they will more often than not mention something about the fast-food chains there.

“If they tried to pull the same stunt in the United States, there would literally be riots.”

“But again, the United States can probably learn something from Japan. It would explain why Japanese people have a much easier time staying lean.”

What may surprise you is that we are not talking about different menu options at Japanese fast food chains compared to American ones — we are talking about the portion sizes.

What makes food in Japan healthier than in the United States

It’s a running joke in my family how a small size beverage at a McDonald’s in the United States is the large size at a McDonald’s in Japan, but this statement holds a lot of truth.

It’s not just size at McDonald's, but other fast-food chains and restaurants. Starbucks has a special “short” size in Japan, which is only 8 oz. (240 ml). The smallest Domino’s pizza in Japan comes in a size “M,” a 9-inch diameter (23…

--

--

Kaki Okumura
Heated
Writer for

Born in Dallas, raised in New York and Tokyo. I care about helping others learn to live a better, healthier life. My site: www.kakikata.space 🌱