You don’t need a big portion when you eat Japanese food.

When I first came to Canada, I was shocked to see unbelievably huge portions of food at restaurants. The food was spilling over the large plates. (Yes, even the plates were huge to me.) Looking at people eat up huge portions of food, I arbitrarily concluded that obesity may be caused by an amazingly simple reason.

There is a term called “the portion size effect”. According to research on weight loss, women’s eating patterns are vulnerable to the portion of food. One research study found that when meal size increased by 75%, the average amount consumed went up 27%! In addition, no significant difference was observed between a group who were determined to lose weight and one who were not with regards to total amount of food consumed. In short, even those attempting to diet ate more when large portions were placed in front of them.

By cooking and eating Japanese food, you can make one substantial difference. Even a big portion of Japanese food will not result in an accumulation of extra calories in your body. Japanese food mostly consists of lower calorie-dense foods such as leafy and fibrous vegetables, soy beans, and a small amount of protein from lean meat and fish. You may not even succumb to “the portion size effect” when eating Japanese food. The glucose in rice can make you feel full quickly and easily, and the well-balanced amount of sugar in Japanese cooking can help the brain understand when you should stop eating.

Japanese food may cross out one simple cause of obesity.

 japan-recipe.com