http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/mar/02/japan.justinmccu...
"About 24% of people aged 15 and over are considered overweight, compared with 65% in the United States."
Some of the conclusions from that article:
+ [H]ealth experts have warned that dietary changes, coupled with an increasingly sedentary lifestyle, are storing up trouble for Japanese children who, in their taste for burgers and instant noodles, have more in common with the average western teenager than with their tofu-loving grandparents.
+ "The Japanese used to eat food high in protein, but over the past few decades there has been a shift towards eating more animal fat, and that is at the root of the problem," said Shinobu Matsui.
+ [The Health Japan 21 program] has drawn up nutrition charts aimed at those most at risk of obesity - men, children and people living alone - encouraging them to eat more rice and vegetables and to cut down on meat.