Japan is the only rich country to get rich without getting fat – how did they do it?

Japan is the only rich country to get prosperous without its population getting fat. How did they do it?

In Japan, just 3.6% of its population are obese, compared to 23% of adults in Ireland, 26% in the UK and almost half (42.5%) in the US. Photo: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images

Operation Transformation has finally been axed. After 17 years of lycra, calorie restriction, exercise, admonitions and very public weekly weigh-ins, RTÉ has finally pulled the plug as part of a ‘refresh and renew’ programme drive.

With an emphasis on individual behaviour and ‘eat less, move more,’ now seen as simplistic and body-shaming, the show has received persistent criticism from obesity experts and eating disorder groups, culminating in an open letter to RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst from health professionals.