The Thinness and Obesity of Foreign Students at Japan Welfare Education College

Abstract

The body mass indices (BMI) of 36 foreign students at Japan Welfare Education College were calculated as part of their studies. The percentage of underweight foreign students in their twenties was 20.0%, which was about the same as that of Japanese females of the same age. Thin young females are vulnerable to irregular menstruation and amenorrhea, and lifestyle-related diseases. Furthermore, they tend to deliver low-birthweight babies, who in turn develop lifestyle-related diseases more frequently than normal-birthweight babies do (DOHaD). Thus, the thinness of young females affects the health of the next generation. It is important to advise young females to take in an adequate amount of energy. Foreign female students classified as obese class I accounted for 16.0%, and for males, 33.3%. In order to reduce the risk of incurring lifestyle-related diseases, these students should refrain from taking in an excessive amount of energy. There were an extremely thin student (BMI<16.5) and an extremely obese (obese class III) student. As it is possible that they have some serious health concern, they both need to undergo careful medical examinations. As “Health Japan 21 (the Second Term)”recommends, all of the students in the class should take an appropriate amount of food three times a day as meals comprising a staple food, main dishes and side dishes, and do aerobic exercise such as walking ten thousand steps per day to promote their health.