Can you live longer the Japanese way? Today, I want to explore with you one reason the Japanese are the longest living people in the world. One component is simple: Walking is embedded in their lives.
Why has Japan become the world’s most long-lived country? A comparison of mortality among G7 nations points to Japan as having the longest average life expectancy. Japanese have an average life expectancy of nearly 84 years and the lowest rate of obesity at just under 4 percent. This remarkable achievement is primarily due to remarkably low death rates from heart disease and cancer (especially breast and prostate cancer).
Japanese longevity is a relatively recent phenomenon.
This relatively long life expectancy has not always been the case. In the 1960s, the Japanese had the shortest life expectancy among the G7 countries because of high death rates from stroke and stomach cancer. Fortunately, these diseases’ mortality rates have declined significantly, and the already low rates for heart disease and cancer also dropped. Voila! The Japanese live the longest nowadays. While low rates of obesity and high intakes of fish and plant foods may play roles, our focus today is on physical activity in the form of walking.
Do the Japanese do a lot of formal exercises?
Most Japanese do not participate in regular exercise. One survey of 1,000 individuals between ages 20 and 70 years found that about 55 percent did not do any regular exercise; these individuals exercised less than once per month on average.
Why didn’t these folks want to exercise? Approximately 35 percent offered that they were too busy to get in shape. The next most common answers were “because I don’t like exercise,” “because I’m not interested in exercise,” and “because I don’t like moving.”
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