A group of overweight Britons who signed up to travel the world in a quest to learn weight loss secrets were left upset by their experience in Tokyo where people stared, pointed and laughed at them.
The first episode of Channel 4’s latest series, Around the World in 80 Weighs, which aired last night, follows six contestants from around the UK who ventured to Japan, where only 4 per cent of the population are obese compared to 25 per cent of Britons.
Workers are legally obliged to do a morning exercise session – and have their waists measured by their employers – and with obesity so uncommon in Japan, the participants quickly stood out from the crowds in suburban Tokyo where members of the public openly gawked at them.
‘As we walked past all of the school kids pointed and laughed at us,’ said Tiffany, 24, who admits she needs help to ‘not eat c**p all day every day’. ‘I’m starting to feel a bit self-conscious, as we’re walking, everybody’s staring.
Marisa (pictured left) and Tiffany (pictured right) were made to feel ‘self-conscious’ after being stared at in the streets of Japan
‘They’re so open about being rude,’ she continued. ‘Why would you point and laugh at another human being? It’s just cruel.’
‘It just blows my mind that you’re not allowed to be who you are and you just have to fit it,’ agreed 31-year-old Marisa.
‘I don’t feel like I should be here,’ Marisa continued. She added: ‘In this country I don’t feel comfortable, and for me personally, it isn’t somewhere I would come back.’
The young women braved their journey through the busy streets despite appearing dejected from the humiliation.
They joined the rest of the group to meet with their tour guides – YouTubers called Mr and Mrs Eats – who admitted that upon meeting the group, it was their first time seeing ‘bigger people’ in the flesh.
‘Obese people are extremely rare,’ said Mrs Eats/ ‘Do we have obese people in our town, maybe. But I just don’t see them at all.’
She explained to the group: ‘A lot of Japanese people are very disciplined. We believe that harmony is very important, so that if you are too big and you stand out too much, you kind of destroy the harmony in society in a way.’
The group move in with the couple for a few days to learn a new approach to eating, and are served a meal of miso soup, fresh veg and meat and fish.
The participants complained that members of the Japanese public openly gawked at them as they stood in the streets
The group were publicly humiliated as people stopped to stare at them in the streets because of their size
Tiffany, Marisa, and Therryi-Jay followed YouTuber Mrs Eats on a tour of the surburban streets of Tokyo
They are only allowed to eat with chopsticks so that they eat slowly, giving more time to digest their food. They are told to eat in a triangle, by trying a little bit from each plate at a time, and to finish when they are 80 per cent full.
Contestants faced scrutiny from cameras, the intrusive eyes of mocking strangers, and now their tour guides.
Reality TV shows have become all too accustomed to the dwindling mental health of their participants, and if there was any support from medical professionals throughout the show, there was no evidence of it.
Instead, the support system was formed of Mr and Mrs Eats, who toured the six around the city and judged them as they went along.
They struggled to comprehend the participant’s lifestyle and fuelled feelings of discomfort for the viewers by talking down to the participants.
From measured waistlines to being pointed and laughed at in public, Japan’s weight loss lessons quickly became shrouded by continuous embarrassment.
The group were subjected to more shame at the end of the episode when they visited a spa to find the open-plan public changing rooms – prompting further shame.
Later in the trip, the group also partook in a Japanese practice called Rajio Taiso.
The six participants arrived at their first destination of Japan and discussed their goals for the stay
The group were pleased to meet their tour guides in Japan – food YouTubers called Mr and Mrs Eats
After meeting the other participants, Marisa and Russell realised that they were the largest members of the group
Susan tucked in to her traditional Japanese lunch, which included miso soup and plain white rice
To help combat obesity, the Japanese government broadcasts an exercise class every morning, and it’s the law that workers across the country pause to work out together.
In 2008, Western eating habits sparked a rise in obesity in Japan, and the government introduced a law making the employees responsible for monitoring waistlines.
Individuals are measured at work and waistlines should be no more than 85cm for males and 90cm for females.
The group were initially surprised about the association between work and healthcare, but after learning more, they found it to be an admirable aspect of Japanese culture.
For Therryi-Jay, government intervention could have had life-changing consequences.
Meet the contestants who are desperate to lose weight as they reveal emotional stories behind their quest – from a murdered best friend to a life-threatening health condition
Marisa, 31
Marisa, from Kent, has packed her bags to learn about weight loss secrets from around the world so she can be a healthy mother
31-year-old Marisa is looking to lose weight so she can have children and be a fit and healthy mother. She has developed an unhealthy relationship with food where she will be healthy in the week and gorge at the weekends.
Russell, 36
Husband to Marisa, Russell, from Kent, also wants to shed the pounds to start a family. He is additionally motivated to lose weight following his father’s death from diabetes- a condition he also grapples with.
Kent-based married couple Marisa and Russell have known each other since they were four
Therryi-Jay, 32
South London born and bred Therryi-Jay want to lose weight to become healthy. She turned to fast food after the loss of her best friend to murder. Therryi-Jay also believes society and its abundance of fast food contributes to her unhealthy relationship with food.
Therryi-Jay joined the show to learn the best routes to shed the pounds. She formed an unhealthy relationship with food after losing her best friend
Susan
She found out about the show from her daughter, who thought it was the perfect way for her mother to lose weight. Susan joined the programme to help her gain confidence and live life to the maximum.
Susan’s weight has stopped her from leading a normal life, and she would often find herself unable to leave the house
Tiffany, 24
24-year-old Tiffany differs from the other participants because she believes you can be obese and healthy. Despite living with obesity, she can lift heavy weights and complete difficult exercise routines. She wants to understand the condition further.
Tiffany entered the show to learn about eating habits around the world, but she doesn’t think that an individual being obese necessarily means they’re unhealthy
Phil, 34
Father-of-one Phil, from Leeds, wants to lose weight so he can be a better father. His child is four, and he fears he can’t keep up. The 34-year-old wants to learn as much as possible from other countries and implement it into his lifestyle back home.
Phil is motivated to shed the pounds so he can be an active father to his four-year-old child
‘Society is a lot to blame for me being overweight, and it’s not because I’ve not tried,’ she said.
‘I tried as a child to lose weight, and it didn’t work because society is still society, it’s still got chicken shops everywhere, it’s still got Chinese shops everywhere, so I think it’s more society than the person.’
‘Imagine if they did this in England, it makes me think, wow does my country even care about me,’ she questioned.
After learning about the processes, the group met with an employee who previously failed his company’s health test, which led him to be ‘sentenced’ to walking 10,000 steps a day.
The participants enthusiastically attempted to join in on the so-called punishment, but after a couple of minutes, Russell began to feel tired.
24-year-old Tiffany quickly felt self-conscious in Japan, and thought others reactions to her appearance were ‘cruel’
The contestants travelled to a company in Japan, where they learned about the healthcare processes
Russell found the exercise class amusing, and said people in the UK wouldn’t be able to do it with a straight face
His lack of fitness triggered emotional memories of his father, who passed away when he was 19.
‘My dad, he died when I was 19. He had type 2 diabetes; he ran the local pub and was a massive character in the village,’ Russell said.
‘He was my hero, this is the reason I want to have children, because I want someone to love me the way I loved my dad.’
‘Looking back, when I was diagnosed with diabetes, I was probably in denial,’ he said.
‘I’m 36, my dad was 56 when he died, that’s only 20 years’ time. That’s going to be me if I keep on doing what I’m doing.’
The experience proved to be an emotional rollercoaster for Russell, who lost his father at the age of 19
Russell’s father (pictured) suffered from type two diabetes – the same condition that Russell now has
Russell decided to take part in the show to help combat the worrying side effects of type two diabetes
Marisa and Russell attempted to join in on the walk, but Russell quickly got tired and couldn’t’ keep up the pace
While emotional, the moment of reflection ultimately inspired Russell to continue with the process.
On a lighter note, the group also visited a business where customers can ‘rent out big people’, but not for sex.
The company was set up by one of Mrs Eats’s friends who decided to profit off Japan’s strict attitudes towards weight.
For 11 pounds an hour, customers can enjoy an overweight person’s company.
‘There are people who have similar figures to me, who might find it embarrassing to eat out or go shopping with thinner people… and they like to do it with me,’ one worker said.
The participants met one young lady (pictured) who rents her body out for 11 pounds an hour so people can spend time with an overweight person
Therryi-Jay admired Japan’s way of living, and wished the British government intervened with healthcare more often
While interested in the young woman’s story, contestants, including Marisa, thought that her customers fetishized her body type
Contestants Tiffany and Therryi-Jay differ in their beliefs about obesity. While Therryi-Jay thinks that being obese means you are unhealthy, Tiffany disagrees
In the first episode, Marisa also underwent a colony cleanse in Tokyo to remove toxins from her body
She claimed a wide variety of people rent her services, but admittedly, it was most commonly young men or ‘men who like a bigger woman’.
At the end of the episode, the participants stepped on the scales to see if their stay in Japan had caused them to shed any weight.
The group collectively lost an astounding 2.55 stones since the start of their adventure.
It comes after This Morning hosts Josie Gibson, 38, and Dermot O’Leary welcomed three of the participants on the show yesterday to discuss the eye-opening experience – and the culture that shocked them the most.
Among the participants are Russell and Marisa, a married couple who have known each other from the age of four – and are equally desperate to lose weight so they can have children.
Participants Marisa and Russell (pictured), from the UK, joined Channel 4’s show Around the World in Eighty Weighs in a bid to lose weight
Therryi-Jay (pictured left) joined Marisa and Russell and travelled across continents to learn about different cultures and their eating habits
The series kicked off in Japan, where the contestants meet Mr and Mrs Eats (far right). Pictured left to right is participants Susan, Russell, Tiffany, Therryi-Jay, Phil, and Marisa
Sue also appeared on yesterday’s show – a woman whose experience with obesity has stopped her from living life to its full potential.
Chatting to the hosts, the group revealed the monumental impact that the show has had on their health, general happiness, and waistlines.
‘Across the globe more than one billion adults are obese – 650 million adults, 340 million adolescents and 39 million children, and the number is increasing,’ Josie revealed.
That’s why Channel 4 took a group of individuals grappling with obesity travelling to, so they could discover why the rate is so high and how other countries handle the problem.
Participants also strive to lose weight throughout the show – a longstanding reality for contestants Marissa and Russ.
Father-of-one Phil instantly connected with the group, and the participants shared some laughs together
Therryi-Jay from South London proved to be a bright and cheerful character in the first episode of the series
Marisa and Tiffany discussed their hopes for the trip while they travelled to their destination
‘I think for me and Russ, we struggled with our weights since we were quite young. We tried lots of fad diets… but things didn’t work, and we’d always fall of the wagon,’ Marisa said.
Russell added: We got into a cycle of being good during the week, and at the weekend, we’d go rogue and eat anything.’
‘When this opportunity came up, we just couldn’t say no. We both want to have children one day; we just want to be the best versions of ourselves, not just for that but for us,’ Marisa added.
For Sue, her weight loss journey was all about retrieving her confidence. She said: ‘I lost my confidence being overweight, I didn’t have a 50th birthday party, there was no way I was going to do that.
She added: ‘Some days I didn’t go out, I’d get dressed up and go to the back door, and I couldn’t go. I couldn’t even take my dog for a walk.’
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