Fries, GIs, Beef Bring Diabetes to Japan's Isle of Centenarians
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?...gOvQ&refer=home
By Kanoko Matsuyama
Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Tomomi Inose is overweight and diabetic. Her poor health is a result of six decades of U.S. influence on Okinawa. Until a generation ago, residents of Japan's southern island were the world's longest-lived.
Growing up in postwar Okinawa alongside the U.S. military's largest overseas bases, Inose developed a bigger appetite for American-style barbecue, hamburgers and sodas than the fish and vegetables that sustained prior generations.
``My body instinctively craves for succulent meat,'' Inose, 46, said during a visit to the hospital where her blood-sugar level is tested monthly to monitor the type-2 diabetes that's impaired her vision and increases her risk of heart disease.
The island that once boasted more centenarians than anywhere else in the world now has the highest prevalence of obesity in Japan, and life expectancy is falling rapidly. The government is concerned the deteriorating health of Okinawans may be a prelude to a nationwide crisis.
So-called lifestyle diseases are absorbing a growing portion of Japan's 32 trillion yen ($263 billion) health budget. Health spending in the world's second-biggest economy is growing about 3 percent a year, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, more than three times the pace of economic expansion during the past decade.
Japan introduced a health promotion law five years ago, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appointed the first minister to promote food education in September. Two months later, Vice Health Ministers Keizo Takemi and Noritoshi Ishida began writing Internet diaries on their attempts to slim their 39-inch waists.
Blame the U.S.
Diabetes afflicts 8.2 percent of Okinawans, compared with 5.7 percent nationally. Worldwide, about 230 million people have the disorder and the number may reach 380 million by 2025, stoked by obesity, sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy diet, according to the International Diabetes Federation.
On Okinawa, almost half of men and a quarter of women are either overweight or obese. In contrast, a quarter of the 130 million people in Japan fall into either category. More than two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese, according to the OECD.
The U.S. military has about 36,000 people based on Okinawa, an 878 square-mile island that is closer to Manila than Tokyo. Experts blame the servicemen for bringing hamburgers, French fries and canned meat to the island earlier than the rest of Japan.
Increased availability of high-fat diets and sedentary lifestyles are producing a 10 percent a year increase in obesity and diabetes worldwide, and rates are rising even faster in some developing countries, according to the World Health Organization.
McDonald's, KFC
Chains including McDonald's Holdings Co. Japan Ltd., Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan Ltd., A&W Okinawa Co. and Mos Food Services Inc. are among operators of more than 100 fast-food outlets on Okinawa.
These restaurants serve two to three meals a week to the island's residents. On the mainland, fast food is consumed less than once a week, says Nobuhiko Takasu, a professor at Ryukyu University who specializes in diabetes.
Inose recalls her mother serving fried vegetables with Spam, a canned pork luncheon meat, regular meals at diners and American-style barbeques on the beach. ``It's quite natural for Okinawans to eat big portions,'' she said.
Before 1945, Okinawans consumed mostly fish, soybeans, seaweed, vegetables and pork. The diet was rich in antioxidants, minerals, omega-3 fatty acids and proteins that helped protect against vascular diseases such as stroke and heart attack, and lowered the risk of cancer, according to a study by Yukio Yamori, director of the International Center for Research on Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases in Kyoto, Japan.
Tofu and Fish
``Fish contains not only omega-3 fatty acids but taurine, which lowers total cholesterol and blood pressure,'' said Yamori. Tofu, consumed at a rate 1.5 times greater than the rest of Japan, contains isoflavones -- a compound similar to the female hormone, estrogen -- which lowers the risk of some cancers and osteoporosis, he said.
Those who retained the traditional diet are healthier than their peers. With an average life expectancy of 86 for women and 78 for men, Okinawa's elders have one-fifth the heart disease, a quarter of breast and prostate cancer and one-third the dementia of Americans of the same age group, according to the Okinawa Centenarian Study.
Shizu Miyagi, 100, enjoys strolls around her garden. She often invites friends to her Naha city home to share a lunch of stewed pork leg, potatoes, rice and red beans.
``The secret of longevity is to eat three proper meals a day,'' Shizu says with a smile that reveals a full set of her own teeth.
Disappearing Centenarians
Miyagi, whose grandmother also reached 100, and the other 740 centenarians on Okinawa, represent a disappearing generation, said Hirohisa Arai, a visiting professor at Showa University and author of ``Diet for Healthy Long Life'' (Japan Broadcast Publishing Co. 2003).
Prospects for longevity are fading ``all because of the junk food brought by the Americans,'' Arai said in an interview. ``Okinawa's traditional cuisine was a perfect example of balanced nutrition.''
Dietician Emiko Kinjo studied centenarians in Ogimi, a farming village in northern Okinawa, and recorded their lifestyles.
``Okinawans today think they can live a long time just because they were born and raised here,'' Kinjo said. ``That's not true.'' block
Fries, GIs, Beef Bring Diabetes to Japan's Isle of Centenarians - blame the US
Yiqing Song, MD; JoAnn E. Manson, MD, DRPH; Julie E. Buring, SCD; Simin Liu, MD, SCD
Linear Mode
