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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Greece leads the world with overweight and obese kids. They are followed by Italy. The US is ranked third.

Google it. There are charts, media reports (Greece is the headline), WHO reports, etc. [/quote]

Yes but that's not because the typical Mediterranean diet isn't healthy.  Olive oil, fish, fresh fruits and vegetables like tomatoes do lead to longevity.  The problem is the kids in Italy and Greece have moved away from the traditional Mediterranean diet.[/quote]

It's a pattern all over the place.

People praised Italy and Greece for the Mediterranean diet based on the diet of their childhood (1950s) when those countries were much poorer (and Greece is still fairly poor). But as they grew richer the more they embraced the high fat, high sugar, high carb diets. That's why their youths are heavier than their parents.

The same is happening in India now. As India grows richer, the health problems are exploding too. Diabetes is a major problem now among better off Indians. They love their sugary sweets but instead of having them as rare treats as in the past they now have them all the time. All the heavy, rich calorie laded curries and high carbohydrate rice is contributing greatly to the problem too.

This is a problem of affluenza + much more sedentary lifestyles and it cuts across all cultures and classes, except, perhaps, the Japanese for some reason. [/quote]

I can't speak for Greece or other countries, but having lived in Japan for several years, including two years with two different host families, I would venture to say it's  a combination of infrastructure and the strong culture of women having responsibility for the home (which goes along with discouraging women from having high-powered or time-consuming careers). Except in rural areas, people walk, bike, and take public transit. There is steep congestion pricing in most cities, which really encourages public transit. Nearly everyone owns a bike (very cheap, you can get a good commuter bike for $100) and train and subway stations have dedicated bike parking lots. Super easy to bike to a train station and then take the train. When it's easy to do, and the alternative is harder, people do it. Kids are very what we would consider free range, and that also takes the form of walking, biking, public transit. Not unusual to see a bunch of 7 or 8 year olds getting themselves to and from school and other activities without an adult.

Food-wise, there is an emphasis on doing food shopping daily, eating a variety of foods, cooking elaborate lunches for children to take to school (though some schools serve lunch), and doing the same for dinner. Of course it is women who do this. Sex discrimination in the workplace is rampant. Typical "office worker" culture emphasizes male bonding after hours over drinks, often until late at night, while women are pushed out when they have kids or otherwise lag behind. And many women find that having kids is not compatible with advancement. Also, historically there just isn't the taste for sugar and sweets that we have here, and when sweets are served they are often based on sweet beans or gummies or other things that aren't huge sugar-and-fat bombs. (As a lover of American sweets, I did not enjoy Japanese sweets!)

My second host mother was a teacher, which worked better hours-wise, but she would get home at 4:30 pm and immediately embark on a marathon of cooking. A typical dinner was rice, soup, at least one cooked or pickled vegetable, and some form of protein -- seafood, chicken, sometimes beef. Usually simply prepared but when you are preparing at least 4 dishes for 6 people (host parents, 3 teen/young adult kids, and me), it takes a lot of time. The clean-up was even worse -- every dish was served in its own small plate and there was no dishwasher. We all pitched in, including my host father (who worked remarkably sane hours), but there's no doubt it's a lot of work.

I don't think there's much doubt that the US followed a similar path regarding nutrition and exercise when women joined the workforce in significant numbers in the 70s and later. That's not meant as a criticism or value judgment, just facts. Something has to give. When women's labor is no longer spent very significantly in the home preparing fresh, healthy food; when family meals are not prioritized because everyone works and does individual activities and school perhaps assigns more work; when technology advances and infrastructure is such that it's easier and cheaper to drive than walk or bike; and none of this is replaced by someone else -- like the domestic help many middle-class white women had back in the day -- then of course diets will suffer.[/quote]

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