The Diet Illusion – Why We Want to Be Thin, Why We Need to Be Loved

Publication:2019
Publisher:Chikuma Shobo,Tokyo

Awards

🏅 2019 Selected for 100 Children’s Books to Share with the World (Japanese Board on Books for Young People / Japan’s IBBY National Section)

Overview

The extreme thinness of young women in Japan has been serious enough for the government to sound the alarm for more than twenty years. Yet the situation has not improved at all, and many young women still aspire to what is known as “Cinderella weight”—a body mass index (BMI) of 18.0 or lower.

Drawing on over fifteen years of research on eating disorders, as well as close observation of Japan’s desire for thinness and dieting culture since the latter half of the twentieth century, the author speaks directly to young women in Japan. In clear and accessible language, the book explores where the desire to be thin comes from, how to live with that feeling, and how to keep a healthy distance from the flood of diet information. It also takes up deeper questions: what it means to be human, and how to build relationships with others.

The book has gone through six reprints and has been widely read—from junior and senior high school students to adults who diet—and it is also frequently used in junior and senior high school entrance examinations.

Book Review

I especially recommend this book to those who desperately want to lose weight but feel inadequate because they can’t.

MiyabeMiyuki/Yomiuri Shimbun

The “line” the author presents is the trajectory of each individual life. She urges us to cultivate the ability to experience what emerges between ourselves and the world. Though published as a Chikuma Primer New Book aimed at younger generations, it also serves as an excellent guide for adults.

Yoko Hiramatsu / Mainichi Shimbun / Sunday Mainichi

The “illusion” referred to here isn’t limited to dieting; it’s the overconfidence that “everything can be controlled.” In a society where managing one’s surroundings and self is valued, what should have been kept in check swells up, becoming like a fire-breathing dragon that spirals out of control.

Yamamoto Poteto/Jinbundo

I long to return to the days before I even thought about dieting. Or better yet, I wish I could install within myself the spirit to love my body just as it is. Unable to do either, I wallowed in self-pity. Maho Isono’s Diet Illusion is the book that changed my daily life.

Yumiko Miyadai/Yoi

After realizing how serious my situation was when I had to undergo health counseling, I resolved to diet. Browsing for diet books for reference, I picked up “Diet Illusions,” which stood out.

Daisuke Miyagawa, Owner, Shunkodo Bookstore / Asahi Shimbun

Interviews & Dialogues

Kyodo News “Diverse Talents”
Beyond the Traps of “Being Loved” and “Authentic Self” (8-part series, interviewer: Azusa Mizuno)

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