Skinny Asians - High Carbs
 

Do you think its strange that Asians are usually skinnier than other races, yet they eat a lot of carbs (rice, noodles, dumplings etc)

Could this be because:

1) they have very very low metabolic resistance
2) some carbs are not fattening (eg rice)
3) other reasons??

I'm doing atkins and have lost weight, but i'm just wondering about this because it seems a bit strange

Actually, I think it's because in general, people in Asian countries are far more active physically than those of us in the US. Think about it...do you walk or ride a bike nearly everywhere you go? Do you work long hours at physically demanding jobs (I'm thinking of Asians in rural areas here)? If you're a person who is moving constantly and expending a lot of physical energy every day, you can get away with eating more carbs than someone who isn't.
Also, don't think that because they are slim, Asians are more healthy. Stroke rates are far higher in Asian countries than many others and new cases of diabetes is rising faster in Asian countries right now than any other country in the world. Obesity among children is also on the rise even in countries like Japan and China.
Something else that many people don't realize is that rice is about the only high carb food that many Asians eat; the rest of their diets are generally very low in carbs and high in vegetables. They also love pork, lard and coconut oil and use them liberally in their diets.

but there are many asians in european/american etc countries who still eat rice, and still remain slim.

Also i notice that asian kids at schools enjoy sports LESS than the other kids.

i live in new zealand, and i see lots of caucasian/pacific people playing sports, jogging etc, but HARDLY ANY ASIANS doing this

also, apart from rice, many asians also eat noodles, dumplings, and various steamed rolls

You know..it's interesting. Studies have shown that Asians who move to a Western country and begin adopting Western foods and activity levels quickly begin developing Western type diseases and within a generation or two, there is virtually no difference in the disease rates between them and the country that they have moved to.
In many Asian countries, it's not a matter of enjoying physical activity, they simply have no choice; it's their way of life there. Not enjoying physical education or jogging doesn't mean that they are not still physically active in other ways.
As for the noodles, dumplings, etc..., it's always been my understanding of Asian diets that these foods are usually reserved for celebrations and not part of the daily menu. One thing is fairly certain as well; they aren't consuming the average amount of carbs in a typical Western diet of 300+ grams per day either way.
We had this discussion a while back in the Research/Media Watch forum. I'll do a search and see if I can find you the link; it was very interesting.

most of it is not white rice. they eat the "right" kind of carbs. I bet their noodles too are not from white flour.

Found the link for you: http://www.westonaprice.org/traditi...iets/japan.html

actually, i agree that many asian people who live in rural areas will have no choice but to be physically active (eg. farming etc),

however, many of my friends are asian, and they do hardly any exercise, and are not very active at all, but they are still quite slim.......dont understand why

also, noodles etc are actually part of many asian people's daily menu - especially now with the convenience of 2-minute noodles, frozen pre-made dumplings and dim sums.

also, i dunno about in america, but the asian people in new zealand eat out a lot at asian restaurants (where they serve mainly high-carb foods), but they're still slimmer overall.
actually around the city/central suburb areas, there are like 2-3 asian restaurants/food places opening every month...

My friend is in Korea right now and she said the portions are really small. They only get maybe a cup of rice with a meal, the rest is made up of vegetables and a small piece of protien

One of my SIL's is Asian and for the last 26 years has refused to eat much "American" food. She eats a lot of rice, fish, pork and lumpia (a kind of spring roll). In the last 5 years she has gone from a size 0 to a size 14 - eating the typical Asian diet. What has changed? Her activity level and her age. My brother, on the other hand, is still 6-4 and still weighs 180 pounds. His activity level has increased rather than decreased as he has gotten a little - um, hum, older.

shortstuff

thanx for the link - i will read it now

Here's another one you might find interesting on the subject: http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...ighlight=Asians

I think it has a lot to do with Portion control ... plain & simple.
A lot of North Americans ... ( including me) eat like I am eating my last meal.

i think i agree with capercop - most asian people who are slim do eat smaller portions......but even with smaller portions, they still eat more carbs than someone on the maintenance phase of the atkins diet.........
EG:
1 low carb breakfast,

noodles for lunch [approx 70g carb-according to the nutrition info on a pack of instant noodles],

1 bowl of rice for dinner [approx 35-45g carb]

TOTAL = around 105-115g carb

You know, it still holds that for all their appearances of being slim, many Asians are developing diseases such as hypertension, hemorrhagic stroke and diabetes as well as having higher incidences of many types of cancer. If being slim, even while eating a diet that appears to be higher in carbs than those on maintainance levels of low carb doesn't prevent those diseases, is it really a benefit to eat that way?
In the second link I provided, it's now known that while many Asian people appear to be slim in comparison to or even while being approximately the same size as a Westerner, their body fat percentages are higher at the same weight. Could it be that their diet has something to do with that?
Also, 105-115 grams of carb per day could be considered maintainance for some on low carb, depending on their activity levels and tolerance for carbs.

I agree with capercop.

While it may SEEM that asians eata "lot of" rice and noodles, they don't actually.

The portions served to us in asian restaurants are very big - catering for our western way of eating.

If you compare an asian diet to a western diet I bet that carb for carb they are eating less than us - and lower fat.