JK98.. In my personal mind, i think the classic blame on meat consumption is a myth, a myth with less or non at all truth to it.. It's the official answer.. emphasis.. official!

I think it may be more to (not officially talked about) environmental "unknowns" that make up the diffrence... atleast part of it, because i agree about the lesser obesity status of the japanese people in japan, and that they enjoy a way way healthier diet in general and in all.

Maybe japan is less polluted than the western countries, but then again, maybe it's the other way around... (car factories, industries, etc..)

Btw, japan has had it's own grand mercury scandals in the past, even many people died as a direct result of it... Don't remember where at this time, but i know i have read into it..

The japanese diet... yes, less meat.. infact from what i know, allmost non meat at all.. However.. i don't think it's the lack of meat that is the winning reason for them, but rather their use of "exotic herbs", and theire way of preparing them in the kitchen.. !

My reasoning and belives anyway..
And ofcourse theire cultural, and closer to nature way of living, like for instance using the squatting toilet. Ofcourse genetics MAY also play a role...

Escimoes doesn't have dis-eases at all from what i have read, they eat only self catched prey and stuff like that, AND they eat the fatty parts of the animals that the western diet leaves out.. (hence correct fat).

The western world thinks (officially) that the LDL is harmfull and that the HDL is good... I belive both are essential. Like in real butter, butter has a perfect balance of LDL to HDL (so called cholestrol). Ofcourse cholerstrol is JUST another (dangerous sounding) word for lipids... and lipids is just a (proffessional sounding) word for plain old fats.... so..

Anyway, escimoes and such people don't get sick! (from what i have read anyway, and they eat like a caveman dietwise and use old traditions while preparing theire food)