Does eating Chinese Food keep you skinny?

Question

I've heard that Chinese food has a lot of carbs and that's why it doesn't keep you full for a long period of time. I'm not saying this to create a stereotype, but most Asians I see are skinny. Is it because they eat Chinese food?

Answer 1

No.. Especially if you keep eating Americanized Chinese food in American portion! You would gain more weight!

American portion is HUGE!

Most American Restaurants here in Hong Kong warn their customers on their menus about the portion's size of their dishes. I remember when I first visited Guam, I was shocked about the size of the green salad I ordered as a side dish, it was so big that I felt like they were feeding me like cow!

My friends and I would not go to American Restaurant unless we have a group of 6 or more, then we order food for 3 persons and share the portions. The portions we have here are already reduced to half as those we saw in US!

What would keep you skinny? Eat lesser in each meal, fill up your stomach with lot of vegetables, fruits, low sugar / low fat / low salt diet... drink tea / water instead of soft drinks, quit the beer / coffee / smoothies etc!

I saw some big (overweight) Chinese kids in Guam / Hawaii / Seattle / LA, I call them round round American Chinese, I can tell the reason is because they consume American fast food!

My dad is a good cook and usually we have our dinner at home with less oil, boiled or steamed fish or seafood / vegetables / eggs recipes, no beef, no chicken, no deep fried food at all, no one is fat in my family too (may be we have skinny genes).

I also like Japanese and Korean food, again, you hardly can find an overweight person there in Tokyo or Seoul. May be the fat ones hide away because it is a shame to be fat and people would laugh at you... yes.. get bullied because of being fat is sad!!! That's the reason why I do not like gaining weight and I try hard to keep my BMI below 22, I think my ideal BMI is 20.5 to 21, higher than 22 is fat!

Most lose-weight website says the normal BMI for ladies is 20 to 24, but I think that is for westerners not for Asians.

To: xaemiejiel

Seems the cooking style of your Chinese family is different from my family... ! I am curious about your weight... kekekeke..!

Answer 2

The rice that is grown and imported into this country is nothing like the rice they eat there. Our food is screwed! We rely on and bully farmers into genetic alteration of our produce and the Japanese and Chinese do not export THEIR rice that THEY use and consume to any other countries. Their Soy is different too.

We are a fat country because most people over eat. Watch what they eat at mealtimes as opposed to what we snark in a take away box. They do not eat the same food and they do not eat as much either.

Many Chinese people are Buddhists and therefore practice vegetarianism and those who don't go that route eat only a small amount of meat when in keeping with a traditional Chinese diet.

Answer 3

If you keep eating Americanized Chinese food from Chinese take-out restaurants in big portions, no. Americanized Chinese food from Chinese take-out restaurants are greasy, MSG-laden, and poorly cooked.

But if you eat authentic Chinese food of Cantonese or Teochew style with no MSG or any artificial ingridients, you would more likely to stay healthy and skinny. Home-cook Chinese food is also healthier because at home you could control the ingridients.

If Chinese food is so unhealthy, then why Chinese people from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia all live longer than Americans? WHO statistic stated that Hong Kong's life expectancy is 83 years old, Singapore's life expectancy is 82 years old, Macau's life expectancy is 81 years old, Taiwan's life expectancy is 80 years old, and Malaysian Chinese life expectancy is 79 years old. While USA's life expectancy is only about 78 years old, USA lags behind other developed countries in terms of life expectancy.

China, although is third world country surpasses Thailand, India, Russia, most Middle Eastern countries, Southeast Asian countries, and most Eastern European countries in terms of life expectancy. China's life expectancy is 75 years old which is relatively high for a third world country.

Answer 4

I agree with the others, as far as actual Chinese food and the Americanized Chinese food. You would not find General Tso's chicken in China! or at least back then you wouln't have. A typical chinese diet has lots of vegetables, not as much red meat, etc. The stir fried vegetables, good for you too. They also eat a variety of fruits. As far as Japanese food aspect, stay away from the tempura stuff, you'll set yourself back further.

Answer 5

Japanese food will keep you skinny. Chinese food will actually probably help you put on weight because the Chinese food we have here in the US is not the traditional food they eat in China. The food we have here is covered in fatty sauces and includes a lot of carbs.

Answer 6

If you eat Chinese food that a Chinese person cooks in their house you'll be be pretty slim, however, if you eat Americanized Chinese food available at most Chinese resturants, no way you're staying thin. I'll admit its still way better than a burger and fries, but its not like diet food by any means.

Answer 7

"Most Asians ares skinny"? Generally, if you see a fat Asian, that person is Chinese. It is wrong to assume every Asian eats the same stuff they serve at Chinese restaurants.

If you check out the Japanese, they are usually skinny, but their diet is very different than Chung King, even though they do eat a lot of rice. If you are trying to emulate being as Asian to lose weight, try the Okinawa Diet, not the egg rolls.

Answer 8

No the Chinese food in China is different from the Chinese food eaten around the rest of the world. Native Chinese diets consists of very healthy food, vegetables fish and rice. Small amounts of red meat is eaten and no fried food.

Answer 9

If you eat chinese food in china, maybe that can help you to stay skinnier BUT forget about chinese food the way it is prepared in america or europe... thats not even half close to what traditional chinese cuisine is

and of course never forget about quantities.. whatever you eat if you dont do exercise or burn it somehow it will always makes you grow :)

Answer 10

Authentic Chinese food is different from the stuff you see here which has been "Americanized" to please our palate. Rice has carbs. The sauces they put on it have lots of calories, and I"m usually hungry an hour or so after I eat Chinese. You will have to research the Americanized versions vs. the authentic versions.