Hi, it has still been cold here in NY - snowing and windy. Brrrrr... On the other hand, I heard the cherry trees were about to blossom in Japan. (When cherry blossoms start coming out, we expect spring is just around the corner.) I really hope spring will be coming soon here as well...

Speaking of Japan, I read an article about Life expectancy for Japanese women. According to the Japanese Health Ministry, the life expectancy has risen by nearly one year in 5 years, and remained the world's longest for 21st straight year, ahead of Hong Kong and Spain. For men, the life expectancy for Hong Kong is the longest in the world, ahead of Iceland, Switzerland and Japan.

Wow! I knew the expectancy was longer than other counties, however, I didn't expect it to increase because our eating patterns have been changed. You know, since fast food got popular such as hamburgers and instant foods in Japan, our eating habits - the traditional fish and rice-based diet - is changing. I wonder how it is possible... I guess this fact may soon change unless we revisit our eating habits.
FYI- Life expectancy ranking for selected nations out of 225 countries (2006):
United States - 48th (77.85 years old)
Canada - 12th (80.22 years old)
Japan - 6th (81.25 years old)

Click here to find your country's ranking.

If you have a time, click here to calculate your own life expectancy.

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