Dear Reader,

I recently discovered a very interesting fact.

According to research by Unicef, among 41 developed countries in the European Union and the OECD, there is only one country where fewer than one in five children are overweight: Japan.

It’s an alarming statistic that I’m not necessarily happy about – I wish all countries everywhere had lower levels of childhood obesity – but it’s a true one nonetheless.

Low levels of childhood obesity can also partially explain why adult obesity and overweightness in Japan is also low (a mere 7% compared to 41% in the United States).

What can we learn from what’s being taught in Japan?

Why Japanese children are so healthy

When it comes to discussing Japanese schoolchildren’s health, a common response is the school lunch system.

Japanese school standards for lunch tend to be relatively high, a well-balanced meal of several vegetables, lean meats, and moderate amounts of carbohydrates.

But I’ve been noticing an additional aspect about Japanese education, which makes it different: It’s emphasis on teaching people consistency.

Instilling values of consistency

When it comes to teaching about basic life skills, Japanese education tends to focus a lot on being consistent.

And not just by telling people to be consistent, but by helping individuals build habits of consistency by directly programming it into school routines.

"Continuity is the foundation of success"

- Japanese proverb

For example, one of the first things a student would do before arriving at school is say “Good morning” when entering school grounds. Frequently a teacher or principal would be at the gates to greet them, and everyone is expected to return the greeting and maybe make a small bow.

Once in the classroom, students may be assigned their chores for the day. Japanese schools don’t rely on janitorial services to do the daily cleaning, but students are expected to look after their own spaces.

For about 20 minutes after lunch each day, everyone cleans their assigned area– sweeping the floors, wiping down the chalkboard, taking out the trash, or mopping up the bathroom.

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Then there’s the P.E. class. Starting off with a 3-minute warm-up exercise called ‘rajio taiso’, or radio calisthenics (because it was originally broadcast on national radio), many Japanese people learn to become familiar with it like a national anthem.

It’s common for people to continue this warm-up routine outside of school, and you can find communities of individuals well into their 60s and beyond, attending meet-ups in the park or public plazas to complete the routine together.

The value of routine and consistency

I get asked a lot about what makes a good workout, or how we might optimize our diet and exercise routines. We’ve all been curious, what is the best way to eat/exercise/sleep for health?

They’re perfectly valid questions for people who are advanced in their fitness, but for the majority of us who simply rely on exercise as a way to improve our quality of life, rather than meet a certain level of performance, we can be asking different questions.

For example:

• Can you do it consistently?
• How do you feel after?
• Do you enjoy it?

The best things we can do for our health tend to rely less on the “how”, but more on the “did you?”– like personal hygiene, how well we brush our teeth or how long we comb our hair does not matter that much if we don’t do it regularly.

Do something every day

If you’re looking to focus on your health, it doesn’t need to be long, challenging, or impressive, but doing something every day for your health is the best thing you can do.​

I believe Japanese values of consistency is what allows many of its citizens to subsequently live out relatively healthy and long lives.

It’s not a very glamorous or Instagram-worthy approach to health, but sometimes the best things for us do not appear so spectacular.

Simplicity, done consistently, can be life-changing.

Warm regards,

Kaki

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