Half a century ago, the whole world spread the word “Japanese dwarf” to describe their modest height. However, just a few decades later, the Japanese have increased the average height of the entire nation by 10cm, matching that of other countries in the region and changing the position in height ranking, second only to Korea. Let’s find out the Japanese experience of increasing height through the following article of growtallerstrategy
The Japanese and the changes in height
In Japan, height is not only a matter of an individual, but also of the pride of an entire nation. Although not very happy with the name “Japanese short”, the Japanese had to reluctantly accept it, because the name accurately reflected their height at that time.
According to documents published in the New York Times (NYTimes) collected since 1950, Japanese people have a more modest height than Vietnamese people. The average height of Japanese men is only 150cm and women’s is 149cm. Meanwhile, the height of Vietnamese men is 154cm, and women’s is 151cm.
However, after 60 years looking back, Japan has made a spectacular comeback, raising the average height of men to 172cm and women to 158cm. As for Vietnam, which already has a starting advantage over Japan, the height is still only 165cm for men and 154cm for women (data from u in 2104).
The story of Japan’s successful “dwarf escape” has caused the media to spend a lot of ink and paper and many scientists with loss of appetite and sleeplessness to research and dissect to find out the reason. Experts say that, thanks to a scientific diet, reasonable exercise and rest, the height of the Japanese has improved dramatically.
Japanese height increase menu
The Japanese attach special importance to meals, being sophisticated in their processing and nutritional balance in the daily menu . Since the 50s, Japan has paid more attention to nutrition care for children from fetus to 5 years old. As a result, the young people in their 20s in Japan in the 1980s were much taller than the youth of the previous generation.
Usually, the Japanese meal usually consists of steamed rice, miso soup, pumpkin stewed with soy sauce, pickled baby cucumber, egg roll, grilled salmon and indispensable natto soybean dish. These are all foods that contain a lot of vitamins, calcium and minerals to help improve height effectively. In general, Japanese meals are diverse in terms of dishes but few in quantity.
The nutritional ingredients in each meal are properly balanced, this is reflected in the model of ” Japanese Food Guide Spinning “. All foods are divided into several groups, each with a recommended amount per day. The basis of this diet is 5-7 servings of whole grains, 5-6 servings of green vegetables, 3-5 servings of meat and fish dishes, and finally 1 part of milk and 1 part of fruit. Each serving is equivalent to about 70g of food.
In addition, the Japanese government also implements “milk drinking time” at 10:00 a.m. every day for preschool to middle school students. Mothers in Japan who have been pregnant or are taking care of young children are welcome to attend. Free classes on how to take care of your baby, how to prepare full and balanced food.
Japanese exercises to increase height
When the World War ended, Japan set a goal of increasing the time of physical education. The proportion of gymnasiums, stadiums, and sports fields in schools has also increased significantly.
In addition to the time of physical training at school, the percentage of high school students who do sports every day is 55.6% for girls and 80.5% for boys. Moreover, from the time the child was still in the infancy stage, the mothers helped the children to be active every day by waving their arms, kicking their feet, practicing rolling, crawling or massaging the babies. At this age, physical activity will help children have better blood circulation, more growth hormone secretion, and better height.
When children are from 3 years old onwards, Japanese mothers often give children the habit of playing sports that help increase height effectively such as swimming, cycling, basketball, football…depending on the child’s interests. Regular outdoor exercise also helps the body to increase the ability to absorb vitamin D from natural light, helping to strengthen bones.
Some types of milk support the best height increase
Milk is the leading source of calcium – rich foods , so the Japanese attach great importance to adding milk as well as milk-based drinks in the daily menu to improve children’s height.
Dairy cows
Cow’s milk is a drink that plays an essential role for height growth, not only providing necessary nutrients, cow’s milk also helps strengthen bones thanks to the rich calcium content in cow’s milk.
Furthermore, whole cow’s milk contains proteins in complete form, which means that they directly benefit the human body in the process of energy production as well as growth.
Protein in milk is assimilated into the body many times faster and more efficiently than protein in meat.
That is also the reason why children need to drink fresh milk regularly, because this nutritious drink makes a great contribution to the growth and development of both physical and intellectual children.
Soymilk
Soy milk is not only a nutritious healthy drink, but it also helps promote height effectively. Drinking soy milk has many benefits, such as adding fiber, very good antioxidants, good for the bone system and especially increasing height.
According to nutritionist Meagan Bridges Durkin of the University of Virginia, soy milk has similar nutritional value to cow’s milk. In a cup of 240ml unsweetened soy milk contains about 90 Kcal, 4.5g fat, 8g protein and 5g carbohydrate.
Yogurt
Yogurt contains a lot of calcium, protein, fat, potassium, phosphorus and a large amount of vitamins A, D, and E, which are very beneficial for height development. Besides, in yogurt also provides rich Vitamin D and a amount of lactose is considered as an accompanying ingredient for the body to best absorb calcium.
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