Korean Job Discussion Forums

[kiwiboy_nz_99]

[chi-chi]

Judging by the amount of puke I've seen on the bathroom floors, I could venture a wild guess...

[turtlepi1]

My original theory was they minimize the amount of refined sugar and white flour in their diet. That combined with being very active by North American standards and the fact that being fat is not cool here...(sure it's not cool in America either but when 40% of the population is obese it is a little more acceptable)

Had a funny thing happen in my middle school conversation class last night. Only one boy showed up. We were talking and he is very mature unlike a lot of the middle school boys. His mom seems very modern and well kept (well to do sort) He had previously told me his mom doesn't let him eat too much meat..(for his health) Even in middle school he is much taller than me (not hard..) and has very broad shoulders..athletic etc.

OK so I am thinking the highschool sister is probably a looker...we are talking about what she will do next year because she just wrote the university placement exam last week....I ask if she will live at home..he says yes. I say what about if she get married...

He chokes on his spit and says in a serious voice...I think she needs a diet before that happens...she is huge...

[logan2003]

genetics....it is as simple as that.
actually environmental factors can effect genes as well.
And those changes can be past on......

So if they are exposed to and eat alot of fatty western style food, perhaps some might have a predisposition towards gaining MORE wieght, so perhaps we will see larger people here. But I still think it would be not be the same as what we see in America, due to different genetics.

[Swiss James]

I really don't believe that environmental factors (e.g. a Maccy D's opening opposite your apartment building) can change a person's genes so much that the next generation is fat through no fault of there own, but due to some kind of bizarre lard osmosis that is really no-ones fault.

If you take two groups of people, one western, one korean, and make them eat the same diet, you'll find a comparable spread of weight. Saying anything else just smacks of shifting the blame.

[Pyongshin Sangja]

Koreans consume fewer calories than us per day, on average. They are also the world's number one consumers of fruits and vegetables.

[Koreabound2004]

[peppermint]

Aside from the weight thing, are Koreans healthier than westerners?My students might suggest I need a diet, but thjey also think I'm strong every time I move a desk or run up a flight of stairs.

[casey's moon]

[Swiss James]

I'd guess a lot of Korean women wouldn't think any kind of physical activity was very feminine, much better to let a big strong oppa move your desk while you make yourself look pretty.

[Wangja]

Try the "pap-kimchee" diet for 4 weeks and report back .....

[peppermint]

WEll, yes, that's true, but I work in a school with around 50 coworkers, only five of whom are male. Besides, it's the kids who oooh and aaah, not my co-workers.

[katydid]

Ha...my students get excited if while I write on the blackboard my long piece of chalk snaps in two. They think I'm strong then. LOL

[itaewonguy]

[edgellskiuk]

I was listening to a radio program on the bbc a few months back about weight issues becoming a major problem in asia(especially india).

The jist of the show was that the WHO was changing the BMI classed as obese to around 23 for asians compared to around 26ish for westerners. This was due to the negative health effects of obesity occuring at the lower BMI for asians.

Also I recall it mentioned a problem is how the weight is distributed on the east asian body. It is more likely to distribute around the abdomen. This causes abdominal obesity that is the worst sort for health.

I am sure someone can find the full figures (pun not intended) of this somewhere but I have no time at the moment.