Japanese girls weigh less than ever, according to an Education Ministry survey of 650,000 Japanese children aged 5 to 17. The average weight of girls in Japan was at its lowest since data started being compiled in 1948, even though average height has increased by five to eight centimeters. These worrisome results come primarily from an obsession with body image and increased dieting.
More Japanese teens identify themselves as fat than in any other country, according to a survey of high school students in Japan, China, South Korea and the United States by the Japan Youth Research Institute in February 2011. Only 26 percent of Japanese, the lowest share of all the countries, said they were satisfied with their bodies. Meanwhile, 41 percent of elementary school girls in Japan thought they were too fat and a record 46 percent of Japanese girls, some as young as 6, reported having dieted.
Excessive dieting to obtain an ideal image can be dangerous for teenagers. Restricted calorie consumption slows down metabolism and interferes with attention, mood and physical growth. The brain's continual development through the 20s also requires a balanced diet, as well as exercise. There is also pressure on young men to look good by being thin, but women tend to try to achieve their ideal through dieting and men through exercise. The difference is critical.