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Japan’s extra-slim 'Cinderella weight' diet target sparks debate online

6 Comments
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24

Some dieting women in Japan have what’s become known in online circles as the “Cinderella weight” as their target. The Cinderella weight (in kilograms) is calculated by squaring a person’s height in meters, then multiplying that number by 18.

Plugging a few heights into the formula gives us the following combinations:

● 165 centimeters = 49 kilograms

● 170 centimeters = 52 kilograms

● 175 centimeters = 55 kilograms

● 180 centimeters = 58 kilograms

If those sound like especially low body weights, it might be because they’re actually 18 percent lighter than the weights recommended for women of that height by the Japan Medical Association. In other words, even by Japan’s already slim baseline (relative to other societies), the Cinderella weight reflects a remarkably light build. The Cinderella weight also works out to a Body Mass Index of 18, whereas proponents of BMI as a health metric maintain that anything under 18.5 is too low.

Nonetheless, the concept of the Cinderella weight, not so much as a standard but as an aspirational ideal, has endured among a segment of Japanese women. Recently debate about the formula has flared up again online, with some Twitter users speaking out against what they consider an unrealistic and unhealthy goal.

“Unless you’re an athlete, the body-fat percentage that you’d need for a BMI of 18 is going to have you morbidly thin, so if you’re thinking about hitting your Cinderella weight, you should drop the idea.”

“Ridiculous. A woman would have to remove all of her internal organs and have the impossibly thin waist of a manga character to do this.”

“I used to weigh my Cinderella weight, and then I noticed how disgusting it was when I could see my ribs so clearly.”

“If you’re going to weigh your Cinderella weight, get set not to stumble from slipping out of your glass slipper, but from malnourishment.”

“Here’s a question: Is there a Hercules weight for men?”

At the same time, there are also Japanese Twitter users who don’t think the Cinderella weight is always a mark of poor health.

“My live-in-girlfriend weighs exactly her Cinderella weight, eating the same things and leading the same lifestyle that I do, and she’s perfectly healthy.”

“I’m not trying to diet, but I’m lighter than my Cinderella weight, and when I have my physical the doctors tell me I’m in fine health. I don’t look morbidly thin either.”

“It’s not like weighing your Cinderella weight automatically means you’re just skin and bones.”

As with any weight loss plan, the best course of action is likely to avoid focusing on a specific numerical weight so closely that you lose sight of other key health indicators, and to consult a fitness and/or nutrition professional before beginning any intense weight loss plan.

Sources: Hamster Sokuho, Twitter/@nash_yhaa, Twitter/@demisefgo, Japan Medical Association

Read more stories from SoraNews24.

-- Japanese women describe their personal ideal height and weight【Video】

-- Japanese men describe their ideal female body type【Video】

-- Just when you thought anime marketing couldn’t be any more bust-focused: character breast weights

© SoraNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

6 Comments
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Don't they notice men oogling over them all day?

You do realize not all "chicks" do stuff to look appealing to guys(/other people)? _

3 ( +3 / -0 )

That's it! I knew my wife was fat. On the treadmill with you! :p :p

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I used to have an eating disorder in high school. At my lowest I was about 45kg at 160 cm. I was literally skin and bones. I googled this Cinderella Diet and the images really took me back to a dark time. Of course some people are naturally this thin, but its an impossibly tiny fraction of women. I wonder how much thinner women will need to be to please themselves and others in Japan...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I'm currently only about 1.3kg heavier than my "Cinderella weight" and don't look "disgustingly" skinny. I've even been below that number in high school and also didn't look emaciated or anything. Must depend on your build, and how much of your weight is fat vs muscle

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The last time I weighed my "Cinderella weight" I was living on a tin of soup a day because I was on meds that were making me sick and surpressing my appetite.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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