Forget Atkins and Weight Watchers. In Japan eating next to nothing is the diet of the moment. For decades Japanese doctors have treated obesity, diabetes and some psychiatric illnesses with fasting. But only recently has the general public taken it up as a quick way to purge the system and shed unwanted pounds. Last November Yasuo Tanaka, the controversial (and plump) governor of Nagano, lost 4 kilograms at a fasting facility in Ito, west of Tokyo. Celebrities like singer Kenichi Mikawa and wrestler Antonio Inoki have gushed in interviews about how fasting helped them lose weight. Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara hailed fasting in his 2002 best seller “Real Life Starts When You Are Old.”
Physician Yuumi Ishihara (no relation to the Tokyo governor), who runs a fasting sanitarium popular with businessmen and politicians, says the number of annual visitors has tripled over the past few years to 3,000. “Modern man eats more than his body can digest, assimilate and excrete, which causes bad circulation, leading to all kinds of diseases,” he says. Limiting food intake expedites the elimination of waste and gets rid of extra pounds. And he emphasizes–as all fasting gurus agree–that fasting is risk-free when done properly, but should not be undertaken by children or teenagers.
At Fasting Arina, guests receive a daily health checkup, a special enzyme-rich (but awful-tasting) vegetable and fruit juice in lieu of meals and an endless supply of herbal tea and mineral water. During their stay, they often get facials and massages and engage in mild exercise, like stretching or walking around the lake. As the recommended five-day fasting period nears the end, “recovery food”–brown-rice porridge, vegetables and plain miso soup–is added.
Japan’s fascination with fasting is about more than weight control. After all, young Japanese women are generally svelte; only 7 percent of women in their 20s and 13 percent of those in their 30s are obese. “[Our guests] come not just to lose weight but also to re-examine their overall lifestyles,” says Takeo Hayashi, president of FastingArina. Not everyone thinks long-term fasts are such a good idea: Shigeru Miyazaki, a physician at Tokyo Teishin Hospital, warns that they can “lead to muscle loss, weaken the heart and cause cardiac problems.” And some fasting dieters put the pounds back on as soon as they start eating normally again. Critics say the fad has more to do with Japan’s culture of conformity, where everyone carries a Louis Vuitton bag and longs to be as skinny as the next girl.
Nevertheless, not eating is set to become big business for something that doesn’t cost anything. In the last several months, dozens of books have appeared to teach people how to fast at home. FastingArina has received queries from different businesses; the bridal industry, for one, is interested in developing prewedding fasting courses. Some hotels, struggling in the recession, are considering introducing “fasting holiday” packages. It would sure save on food.
