I have read the statistics before-- in the 70's 70% of their calories came from rice alone, and even now, nearly half their calories come from rice and over 70%

I have read the statistics before-- in the 70's 70% of their calories came from rice alone, and even now, nearly half their calories come from rice and over 70% from carbohydrates in general. I've also lived with several Japanese people. A bowl of rice is eaten at almost every single meal, including breakfast. It is true that the diet has become westernized and meat and fat consumption have gone up in the past 40 years... but so have their rates of heart disease and diabetes. I don't have as much familiarity with HK diets, but they are also eat rice, noodles or dumplings at almost every meal, and eat less meat, and dairy than Americans. Having lived most my adult life in Taiwan, I can say with absolute certainty that from this side of the world, the US diet looks absurdly high in meat and junk food and severely lacking in whole grains, vegetables and fiber. Edit: It's also uncommon for people here to worry about adding more protein and more meat to their diets like people in English speaking countries do. It's not even on the radar.