Why many Americans don't care about their health as Asians do?

Question

I have been in the US for 5 years, and during this time I met people from Asia, South America, Africa and Middle East. I realized that the majority of americans living there (university) did not care so much for health as asians from Japan and Korea did. I wonder why?

While Asians would eat vegetables, fruits, chiken, fish and at home, the americans would eat pizza, hamburger, pasta, and sometimes vegetables.

Answer 1

This sounds like a very big over generalization.  While America does have a problem with obesity and the types of food sometimes play into this, it is typically the portions of food and the lack of mobility that causes most cases of obesity in the US.

Also Asia food is not really healthy.  Most contains large amounts of sodium and fat as a result of the sauces and fried foods.

Answer 2

I think you are generalizing. I have seen plenty of Asian people at the supermarket with shopping carts loaded with chips and soda. It would be more accurate to say that most people, regardless of race, don't seem to pay attention to their diet. I'm surprised they haven't got scurvy. I guess their glass of OJ at breakfast prevents that, but that's not enough for a healthy diet.

Answer 3

Well it started out as a culture in asia and they just decided to keep it that way because many chinese are very strong about their culture

Answer 4

Because they want taste gratification instead of good health.  It's a matter of choice.  They want to.

But a lot of Americans eat healthy.

PS: Pasta is basically a healthy food.  You can cover it with rich sauces or you can have a delicious plate of hot, plain pasta topped with olive oil & grated Parmesan cheese.  Again,  it's  about choosing.

Answer 5

It's funny.  At my university, we have a HUGE Asian population here, and I find that they eat VERY healthy foods.  I typically find them eating a salad with water chestnuts, two servings of fruit and vegetables like Asparagus, green beans, pasta, and milk or water.  They also like fish.

It really disgusts me when I see Americans eat unhealthy, especially when they are overweight, because it gives us all a bad name, and we are not all like that.

It would be as if we classified all Japanese people as fat sumo wrestlers, but that's not how all people from Japan are.

Believe it or not, there are many health conscious people out here, but many people just do not have the self-control of eating healthy.

Answer 6

they don't lack proper tolerance for those healthy foods. not all Americans are like that though.

Answer 7

Spoiled for me and maybe they won't be like that if they knew it's unhealthy for them. How dumb those kind of people they are!

Answer 8

It's not just American food (though it seems to be globally known more for its junk food) but I think Western food in general, with lots of meats and rich sauces.

The Japanese have lived largely on fish, lean meats, lots of veggies, tofu & plain steamed rice for centuries and became a by-word for longevity, but the younger generation in Japan now prefer burgers & American pizza over their traditional cuisine, hence they now have a substantial increase in the rates of obesity & other health problems related to excessive fats, high cholesterol, diabetes etc. Which were medical problems more prevalent in Western developed countries.

The Chinese, especially Cantonese cuisine, also have light & healthy food but Chinese food in the West has the misleading reputation for being unhealthy simply because the Chinese restaurants there are catering to the local tastes & expectations for deep-fried, salty & excessively sweet stuff.

Whatever the racial group, anyone can eat more healthily by making the right choices (both in type of food & preparation method), putting a bit of effort into preparing simple nutritious meals instead of easy way of calling home delivery for junk fast food, and getting off their butts to do regular exercise every week.

Answer 9

Not good for your heart but it's good for your soul.

America has more soul than most all of Asia.

It's called Freedom.

Look it up. You'll see there's barely any in China.

Stupid asio.

Answer 10

I live in the US and

I am vegetarian UNLIKE ASIANS

and I have a healthy diet

Actually Im POLISH

actually your right

Americans dont care about what they eat

Answer 11

We Americans eat what we want because we can afford it.  Most Asians eat what was available near their homes.  They didn't have the money to ship in food from everywhere.  We used our taste not our brains.