I don't know if this is in the right spot, so if anyone wants to move it go ahead.

Earlier in the year I did some traveling around asia (China, Singappore, Japan) and I noticed that their diet is quite high in carbs, lots of rice, noodles, dumplings etc.

I was just wondering how come (in general) that these countries have almost no obesity problem?

From what I saw they eat a lot of refined/unrefined carbs.

I think you need to observe what else they are eating with their rice and noodles. I'm no expert on Asian diets, but I'm willing to bet it isn't coke, cheetos, french fries, donuts, and chocolate cake.

They also have extreamly small portions, little fat, and alot more exercise. Many who come to this country and try to keep thier traditional diets while having the US abundance of foods and lack of exercise do tend to gain weight.

Obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, elevated blood fats, and diabetes are all symptoms of the same disorder: hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance. Just because Asians do not typically become obese like Caucasians, given similar diets, does not mean they are immune to developing the other symptoms. Heart disease is pandemic in Asia.

My bestest friend is Asian and her dad went on a low carb diet and lost 40 lbs. Her grandfather died during open-heart surgery. I have an Asian student whose mom always comments on my weightloss and told me that she just can't give up her noodles and rice. She is not obese but I can see where she might want to lose 20 lbs. Samarai wrestlers are mostly Asian ( I saw one who was Black ) and their diet is largely of carbohydrates. Keep in mind that Asians also have a higher risk of osteoporosis. So portion size and choice of carbs makes a huge difference.

I did notice more overweight people in Shanghai, which I think has alot to do with the western fast-foods that are popular there. An american I met while in Beijing told me there was a KFC next the great wall on one of the sections open to tourists.( I don't know whether this is true or not )

What I was wondering was that for the last 3-4 years I have eaten a vegetarian diet which was mostly asian based. Low sugar, low fat etc, but it seems that it was the rice and noodles that were really causing a problem (as they were the main things I stopped eating when I started atkins). I just thought maybe there was something I was missing.

There was a newspaper article that said that Asians in Southern California were getting heavier because of KFC and Macdonalds. But, there are so many Asian restaurants here. We have Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese. You can get Sushi just as easliy as Starbucks Coffee. Mmmm, I think I am ready for some Dim Sum. When you eat Asian food, you don't get a small amount. You get a ton!! Hey Sam Wu's has fried shrimp balls that are breaded in coconut that are to die for!

I need to stop talking about food.

It's in their culture.

First off, I don't know if this is the case with the Asians, but the Mediterraneans, who are frequently cited alongside Asians as why we should eat lots of Carbs, do eat Pasta more often, but in SMALLER QUANTITIES [per meal] than an American. I'm guessing its probably the same way in Asia. They probably eat Rice more often, but still less Rice at one sitting than an American would.

From what I've seen [not including the majority of Chineese Restaurants in the US that serve Mega Portions] their portion sizes are also tiny...and I do mean tiny. What they consider a meal, is what most Americans would probably consider a snack. Also, not all of their foods are High Carb. They also eat Duck [70-someodd percent Fat,] Chicken, Egg Drop Soup [Chicken Broth w. Eggs and/or Tofu,] and many other foods which are relatively low in Carbs. I don't think they eat lots of Cake, Ice Cream, French Fries, or Soda either. If I remember correctly, Sugar is actually the Number 2 sweetener in Japan, behind Stevia.

Why is it we always notice the rice, noodles and dumplings that asians eat and forget that the small quantity of rice comes with veggies, pork, fish, chicken or beef. Japanese eat fish with every meal but we remember that they eat rice and therefore are healthy. The fact that many orientals are lean does not automatically mean they are healthy. My chinese in-laws ate lots of fish, pork, beef and veggie stews and soups liberally laced with spinach, cabbage, and all manner of veggies. None of these soups and stews contained rice, noodles or dumplings. I think that many decades of the media listening to PETA or other vegetarian groups have brainwashed everyone into thinking that all Asians eat only rice.

I think its probably because they're not as sedentary. If you're laboring hard all day, you use up that glucose. They come to the US and the same diet makes them fat because they don't have to labor physically as hard.

Portion control and ample fats and protein are what works with Asian and Mediterranean diets. You can get away with small portions of bread, pasta, and rice when they're not accompanied by sugar, sugar and more sugar; as Andreabash pointed out.

If a person is raised on such a diet, they may never get insulin resistance. If you grew up assaulting your poor pancreas with Fun Dip and Kraft Dinner like I did, you may never be able to negotiate rice or noodles.

I totally agree. My eating habits were so bad. Mac and cheese, fun dips were definitely a little too fun, brownies....eesh! Then again i was a kid

This was right on the money! I think what happens to your body during childhood can make changes here & there permanently, because what you put into your body while you're still growing, is the support for the actual growth of those organs. If you've ever noticed the funny growth of trees, you'll know what I mean. A tree might be very straight at the bottom but somewhere near the top, suddenly there's a huge bend in the trunk. Then it continues at a more or less straight angle *from there*. The bed or a thin spot or any other anomaly is likely due to a year where the adequate nutrition was not given to this tree (a dry spell; depleted soil; etc.). It doesn't mean the tree can't function any more--it still keeps growing, it sprouts new leaves, etc., etc. but that "bent" part will always be there. I think that's what our bodies are like.

Make sense...? Or was that more of just a meaningless ramble?