Introduction. Every year since 1946, Japanese
government, private sector companies and foundations have
carried out meticulous research of the Japanese physique and
have discovered several startling statistics. Height,
weight, susceptibility to cancer, female menstruation, and
puberty have
been measured consistently. Japanese children now weigh as
much as their adult counterparts (Weight
loss surgery for children) after the WWII. Over a
period of 10,000 years in Japanese history, from the study
of archeological finds and records, Japanese had grown by
only less than 10 cm . But within last 100 years, the record
of last 10,000 years has been shattered.
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Japanese women)
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In the mid-1990s, Japanese girls experienced the
biggest change at the primary school 6th grade
level as they were taller
than their postwar 1940s counterpart by nearly 16 cm.
As for
female 7th graders, they are more than 12 kg heavier than
their postwar 1940s counterpart.
Now, Japanese over 5 feet 7 inches or even 6 feet are
very common.
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Dietary changes. One of the largest dietary
change is probably consumption of milk. Not only has it made
Japanese women grow taller, bigger and stronger but the
consumption of milk has also advanced the age at which first
menstruation happens in Japanese girls from 15 in 1950 to 12
years in 1975. Only in the US has this record been
somewhat matched and surpassed. Girls in the US are reaching
puberty, for example, as early as eight
years old according to some reports and puberty is also
accelerating though the national average is still about 12.
This means that Japanese women have now reached the
forefront of first world standards in female
puberty. The
implications need to be studied more.
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In the same time period of 25 years after WWII,
Japanese women have also grown more than 4 inches in height.
Their weight
increased by nearly 10 kg in the same period. Many
scientists attribute this growth to the fact that Japanese
consumption of dairy products now amounts to more than 50 kg
per year, including cheese, milk, butter etc. Percentage of
fat has also gone up with the intake of dairy products and
that probably explains why Japanese women are now heavier.
American and Japanese researchers have identified
over 50 hormones in milk that could possibly explain this
phenomenon. The government and private sector has also
played a key role in promoting milk, making it readily
available in offices, schools as well as vending machines in
railway station. Hormones work in minute amounts and only a
small tablespoon (or micrograms) of female hormones like
estrogen or progesterone can produced a monumental effect on
women’s growth.
Some researchers argue that there is a genetic
potential for each race and that the
Japanese are reaching
their potential through improved diet but this is
controversial and not readily proven. This is a
controversial theory as it is not known if this so-called
genetic potential may become a limiting factor on female
growth in Japan. Would it be a genetic limitation such that
Japanese women or indeed Asian women will never grow as
large as Western women? Will the science of genetics or life
sciences or biotechnology or genetically modified food in
the future change this genetic potential? All questions
remained unanswered.
Yet other researchers have gone beyond milk and look
at soy proteins as a source of Japanese growth. These
proteins consumed in larger amounts prevent menopausal
problems but still promote proteins for growth. This finding
is still controversial and it may be safer to say that
Japanese are growing taller due to both intake of soy
proteins as well as dairy products. There is evidence that
even with the increase of soy proteins, there is a
corresponding increase in animal proteins to more than 50
grams per day since 40 years ago. Studies have also shown
that the soy proteins balance women’s hormones in Japan.
These assertions of soy protein theory still need to be
studied closely.
Body of Japanese females change
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