Americans may be battling the bulge, but the Japanese are struggling to expand their waistlines.
The Health Ministry said the number of young, skinny women has risen to troubling levels. A record 29 percent of those in their 20s are underweight, according to a recent government survey. Those with a body mass index of less than 18.5 percent are considered underweight by Japanese standards.
The ministry has yet to come up with a plan to reduce the number of underweight citizens, but the government now treats diminishing waistlines as a national health problem, and worries that the problem could affect fertility rates. Japan already has one of the lowest birthrates in the world.
(ABC News)
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