I know in Japan, they literally present ads such as [this dieting ad](https://blog.gaijinpot.com/app/uploads/sites/4/2014/11/japanesediet1.jpg) \[They’re not girls, it’s adult women despite their physique.\] Other methods include promotions on Japanese media along the lines of: “*Place this pad on your belly and let the gels do the work*” – Fact: doesn’t do shit at all! Including excessive intake of these [pills](https://ph-test-11.slatic.net/p/be03f1869c9d028f4dd95aef67c52da8.jpg) which according to the FDA contain Benzocaine – a local anesthetic used to relieve pain in both the mouth and gums.

I figure it’s photo-shop literally baiting women in Japan who fall victim to an impossible expectation in which seriously, being at 50-70kg with 150-60cm in height is considered ***fat*** in Japan for what is a healthy weight in Europe or the west. As in the eyes of beauty in Japan, they literally want them to be thin reaching the extent of being bulimic or brink of starvation just to be deemed as skinny.

The thing is that Japan is one of the healthiest countries, like there’s no point for them to diet when the food they’re used to eating provides them the nutrients they need, the issue is the standard of beauty is way to rigid that results in women going on a diet despite already been thin at a healthy weight, but they are resorting to becoming like 30kg, 25kg or even below where their bones are visible. I swear that weight loss culture in Japan is *toxic* in terms of how it’s represented like:

* Diet pills
* Photo-shopped ads (deception)
* Thin as a skeleton to be seen as “beautiful”
* Healthy weight is still “fat” there
* Absurd methods of losing weight: eg. gel pads

12 comments

  1. I’m a guy but I haven’t noticed explicit ads telling women to lose weight but I have heard women tell other women to lose weight for various reasons. I’ve also noticed a difference between Latvian and Russian women – Russian women are more likely to apply pressure than Latvian women.

  3. Are the models in these pics like 120 to 130 cm tall? Because that’s the only way the 55-56kg “before” can look like in these pictures and 35-40kg be somewhat normal weight.

  4. I’m a 19 year old latvian girl and most of the pressure I get for losing weight is from family, and it’s not a lot to begin with. But I do see a lot of healthy eating and holistic or eco living practices advertised a lot. Not for the goal of getting skinny and nowhere near the level as in that advertisement. I haven’t felt pressure to be skinny at all from latvian society and if someone looked like that in latvia i think they would be pressured to put on some weight (again, not from any ads, but from family and maybe friends). For reference I am a healthy weight but a bit on the heavy side for my height.

    I have seen more advertising on magazines like recipes or smoothies and other “tricks” for weight loss marketed towards older women, but when I think of younger demographics there is no such thing. Also none of our influencers or celebrities are super skinny or praised or shunned for their figure (maybe in some yellow press but who reads that anyways). Only thing I can think of is plastic surgery, which is not prevalent at all in latvia, but is a bit more seen in the russian crowd. Hope this helped!

  7. We have a little different beauty standards here, also people are “colder” and don’t care much about others so if you are fat nobody will care about you – it’s your problem. Also if you want less attention from men then being fat helps.

  8. Short guy here… 1,65 & 65kg…

    I don’t feel fat, neither look like one.. But legs thighs could crush someone, since i move ALOT at my workplace.

  9. Not really sure how this is related to Latvia? Did you come here to rant about Japanese beauty standards?

  10. The Japanese ad looks cheap and scamy to me, same as some gel pad would sound, there are some like that, but it’s not widespread. More legit companies that sell some kind of nutrition suplements or healthy diet products just go for more mundane ads, like maybe thiner looking woman in everyday setting telling that product is great, not such in your face before/after comparison with unlikely results. It’s not really indicated how much one should weight either.

  11. It’s more like indirect food and nutrition recipes and wellbeing advice in women’s magazines, I think.

    Then again as a male I wouldn’t be so sure.

    As a man I get a lot of these types of ads (weight loss for men) on Facebook and Instagram, but not much anywhere in real world.

  12. What i have noticed is ads geared towards middle age woman that shows borderline obese women losing a huge amounts of weight like minus 25kg and looking like a whole new person.

    And it is always the “Stockholm diet”.

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