Secrets of the World's Healthiest Children: Why Japanese children have the longest, healthiest lives - and how yours can too

by Naomi Moriyama, William Doyle

A recent global analysis by The Lancet revealed that Japanese children are the healthiest in the world. Bestselling author and Tokyo-born Naomi Moriyama set out to discover the secrets of Japan's success. Travelling with her young son, Naomi interviewed scientists, doctors and researchers in Japan, the US and the rest of the world as well as gathering the insights of Japanese mums.

The result: a highly practical and revolutionary guide that will help you establish healthy eating and lifestyle habits that will last a lifetime. In Secrets of the World's Healthiest Children, Naomi and her husband William Doyle reveal life-changing behaviours and tips that will help any parent achieve the results they want.

Genres: Parenting, Health, Japan

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Naomi Moriyama is a Manhattan mom and author of “Secrets of the World’s Healthiest Children: Why Japanese Children Have the Longest, Healthiest Lives — and How Yours Can, Too” (translated into 8 languages so far), “Japanese Women Don’t Get Old or Fat: Secrets of My Mother’s Tokyo Kitchen” (translated into 21 languages), and “The Japan Diet: 30 Days to a Slimmer You”. Naomi has served as Chief Marketing Consultant for Ralph Lauren Japan, as Director of Marketing at HBO in New York, and as Account Executive at Grey Advertising in Tokyo and New York. She grew up in Tokyo but now lives in New York City with her nine-year-old son and her husband and co-author, William Doyle.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mymotherstok...

Reviews

[Tina L]

Quite an interesting read regarding the Japanese lifestyle and how it may contribute to their longevity. It is great to see that schools in Japan involve the kids during mealtime preparation, and fascinating to note that restaurants in Japan do not follow the practice of offering a kids menu, as the children learn to eat what the family eats.

What was more interesting to reflect upon was that the meal practices of serving a small bowl of rice, accompanied by two vegetable dishes, a protein dish and a soup was what I grew up eating with my family. We would also have a variety of fresh fruit served as dessert.

The recipes contained in the book were an absolute bonus and quite easy to follow. A favourite is the One-pot Beef, Potato and Onion Casserole which tastes so much like a Yoshinoya beef bowl!

[Anna]

I'll put it this way: if you're a parent looking for healthy eating/lifestyle tips and don't know much about Japanese culture and cuisine, this is a book for you. But if you already have at least some basic knowledge, just skim through the chapters and go straight to the recipes - they are pretty good (both for children and adults), easy to follow and don't included any super-rare/expensive ingredients.

I a way I liked this book more than "Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat", for a very simple reason: it didn't annoy me. However, it also didn't tell me anything I already didn't know. Moriyama mentioned travelling, meeting with people and doing research but the results don't really show in the book. Besides, she has a habit of using many words/sentences/paragraphs to convey very simple messages. If I were a parent, I'd have been disappointed, but since I'm not, I was just bored.

[Alexandra]

Probably could have been an essay rather than a book, although it was good to have the recipes at the back. The key messages are eat well, eat less, eat lovingly (eat together, no pressure, make it fun, don't demonise food as 'bad') and move more. Makes a lot of sense. Always good to have a reminder that babies and children self regulate their appetites. It's all too tempting to think 'but she hasn't eaten all day!' and then feed her a punnet of strawberries. I'm sure this will become even more pertinent as she becomes a toddler.

[Kasia (Kącik z książką)]

Każdy rodzic powinien sięgnąć po poradnik Zdrowy jak japońskie dziecko i z pewnością znajdzie w nim wiele interesujących inspiracji. Nawet jeśli nie wszystkie metody zaproponowane przez autorów mogą być wprowadzone w polskich realiach, już część z nich może naprawdę poprawić jakość życia całej rodziny.

Cała opinia:
http://www.kacikzksiazka.pl/2017/04/z...

[Heidi]

A VERY interesting book about the healthy habits of Japanese families.

[Angel]

Interesting information about the eating habits and culture of Japanese children. Could’ve been a shorter book in my opinion. So many themes we’re repetitive.

[Scoots]

Interesting information, though quite repetitive. Great recipes 👍

[Anna Polkowska]

Najbardziej interesujące tutaj są przepisy.