Oudat Qutaibah, Messiah Sarah E, Ghoneum Alia Dawlat
Department of Population Health, College of Nursing, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA.
Peter O'Donnell Jr. School of Public Health, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-8876, USA.
Nutrients. 2025 Feb 28;17(5):838. doi: 10.3390/nu17050838.
Childhood obesity is a pressing global public health challenge, marked by significant disparities in prevalence and management across countries. Japan and the United States offer contrasting approaches to addressing this issue, presenting a valuable opportunity for comparative analysis.
This review examines the effectiveness of public health policies, cultural dietary habits, and lifestyle factors in combating childhood obesity in Japan and the United States. It aims to identify actionable insights to inform global strategies for obesity prevention.
Japan exhibits one of the lowest childhood obesity rates globally, attributed to prevention-focused policies such as the food education program, stringent school lunch standards, and culturally ingrained healthy eating practices. These efforts are complemented by active lifestyle promotion through urban planning and school-based physical education programs. In contrast, the United States faces higher obesity rates due to systemic challenges, including socioeconomic disparities, reliance on processed foods, sedentary lifestyles, and inconsistent implementation of federal programs like the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed).
This review highlights Japan's success in aligning public health initiatives with cultural norms to achieve sustainable outcomes. In the United States, systemic barriers and cultural disconnects hinder obesity prevention efforts. Recommendations include adopting integrated, prevention-focused policies, addressing socioeconomic inequities, redesigning urban environments to promote active living, and fostering global collaboration. This comparative analysis underscores the importance of culturally tailored, multidimensional strategies for addressing childhood obesity and improving public health outcomes worldwide.
儿童肥胖是一项紧迫的全球公共卫生挑战，各国在患病率和管理方面存在显著差异。日本和美国在解决这一问题上采取了截然不同的方法，为比较分析提供了宝贵机会。
本综述考察了公共卫生政策、文化饮食习惯和生活方式因素在日本和美国对抗儿童肥胖方面的有效性。其旨在确定可行的见解，为全球肥胖预防战略提供参考。
日本是全球儿童肥胖率最低的国家之一，这归因于以预防为重点的政策，如食品教育计划、严格的学校午餐标准以及深入人心的健康饮食文化习惯。通过城市规划和学校体育课程促进积极的生活方式，这些努力得到了进一步补充。相比之下，美国由于系统性挑战，包括社会经济差距、对加工食品的依赖、久坐不动的生活方式以及联邦计划（如国家学校午餐计划（NSLP）和补充营养援助计划教育（SNAP-Ed））实施不一致等，面临着更高的肥胖率。
本综述强调了日本在使公共卫生举措与文化规范保持一致以实现可持续成果方面的成功。在美国，系统性障碍和文化脱节阻碍了肥胖预防工作。建议包括采取综合的、以预防为重点的政策，解决社会经济不平等问题，重新设计城市环境以促进积极生活，并促进全球合作。这种比较分析强调了针对文化定制的多维度战略对于解决儿童肥胖问题和改善全球公共卫生结果的重要性。
