Have you ever seen an anime where a certain episode arrives where the characters need to pass a tape measure to take measurements? In schools it is part of the physical fitness test done on both men and women. Also known as measurement day.
In Japan, there is a culture called Metabo Check [メタボチェック] or the famous Measuring Tape Test that can be frequently seen in anime, but which became an official law known as Metabo Law. What do you think about us exploring this topic a bit?
In the case of young people, these tests are carried out for physical education purposes, but for the elderly, these tape measure tests are done to prevent obesity in the country which is only about 3% compared to Brazil which is half overweight..
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Metabo Law for Weight Control
The culture of measuring the body with a measuring tape is not only present among the young. All adults tend to undergo these measurements, whether at work or when visiting a hospital. In fact, there is even an annual circumference measurement law called メタボ法 (Metabo Law).
There is a specific day in the year to take this measurement, recommended mainly for those over 40 years old. The World Health Organization determines that men need to have a circumference of less than 94cm and women less than 80cm.
If the measures are not adequate, the responsible bodies or companies encourage the person to participate in support sessions, nutritionists and to do more physical exercises. Through this Law, Japan shows the importance of a healthy weight and exercise.
Abdominal circumference measurements should not exceed 85 cm for men and 90 cm for women, if they exceed these values, the person would enter the food reeducation program and would be instructed to practice exercises.
School Health Examination
In addition to physical fitness tests, the tape measure also appears in school health exams that most of the time students are required to take. The Health Law stipulates that the exam must be taken among all students by the 30th of June of each year.
School health examinations include nutritional status, the presence of diseases and abnormalities in the spine, chest and other limbs. They also do eye, hearing, tuberculosis, urine, blood pressure, blood tests and others.
The day of the physical exam in Japanese is called karada kensa no hi [身体検査の日] or it can simply be called a physical exam which in Japanese is shintaikensa [身体検査]. As mentioned, schools are not the only places where this test is conducted.
Measurement day in anime
We can often observe the measurement day in anime escolares. This annual event in schools usually takes place all day and in anime it is often used for fanservice.
These scenes in anime generate many jokes regarding the weight and size of breasts. Moreover, it is a reason to take off clothes or show underwear and create more ecchi scenes in the school setting.
In anime, some student always tries to spy on the girls from somewhere, does this also happen in real life? Hope you enjoyed the article. What do you think of the Japanese concern about testing their waistline?
Metabo Ranger - Health Power Rangers
Metabo Ranger [メタボレンジャー] is a group of city volunteers in Mitsuke, Niigata Prefecture, who act as monitors to take care of the diet and exercise of each citizen in order to ward off metabolic syndrome and make the city the healthiest in the world. Japan.
The 5 Metabo Rangers are:
- Yamada Pink
- Murakami Red
- Kobayashi Blue
- Yellow Shimomura
- Iwai Green
In addition to the Rangers, Mitsuke City offers fitness classes, exercise guidance, bicycle-type training machines, nutritionists and nurses assigned to each citizen. There were several works in order to bring the whole city to health.
