Let's discuss body image!

[maiaide.livejournal.com]

(This was some exestential rambling from my journal, but I thought it would be nice to share.)
They did some weird game on Himitsu... and they said Ohno weighs 40kg right now.  Mr Plasma Screen is not a complementary nickname in my books.

He's 166cm (5'5") and 40 kilos (88lb).  He weighs half as much as I do and I'm only 2 inches taller than him.  With those measurements, he has a Body Mass Index of 14.5; normal weight should be 18.5~24.9.  D:  That makes me worried!  They list his weight as 51kg on Wiki.theppn but I don't know how old that information is.  But even then, that is a BMI of 18.5, only just normal (by which I think they mean "healthy") weight.  What happened to the toned althletic chubby-faced Leader we all know and love? 

(Most) Japanese people are on the skinny end of the spectrum of the human race anyway, but there is also a problem with eating disorders that is severely unaddressed.  I saw a girl once in a train station who... it looked difficult for her to even walk, her sneakers seemed too heavy for her feet to lift.  She was literally skin and bones.  It was a severe case of anorexia surely and it was heartbreaking to see.  She was clearly not healthy, and only a high school student at most!  She wasn't the first I've seen, but was by far the worst.

I think it is hard to believe he would have developed an eating disorder with his apparent love of food, but anything is possible.  I really and truly hope its merely a side effect of doing a dome tour, a serial drama, filming for three variety shows, and they're doing their Asian tour in the fall on the heels of Maou... It really does make me worry not just for him, but for all of them.  Yes, as a fan, but also as a human being.

I don't know how old the information for the rest of the group is, but even still, they are all barely in the "normal" weight bracket.  Just barely.  Although, around YTM last year Sho was definitely not.  If Sho could bounce back from that, I am sure Ohno can too.

I guess what I'm driving at is... what do you think about this?!  We can't possibly know even one iota of the stress or chaos of their lives but I have to say that the life of a student isn't exactly a walk in the park either but we get through it.  I have to say I am not a fan of Ohno's new image - the starving child that fake 'n' bakes.  Even his skin isn't as nice as it once was, and he had some of the best of the bunch!  Ohno!  You're only 27!

Comments

[blood-opal.livejournal.com]

Ohno seriously worries me. I don't think he has an eating disorder though. I've never pegged him as the type. Aside from the drama and concerts and release after release of Arashi singles, there's also his frequent fishing trips to take into account because he mentioned on Music Station that he spends, on average, 12 hours on that boat and doesn't eat when he's on it. O.o And then, in his recent appearance on Hanamaru, he mentioned he only eats yogurt in the morning. What the hell.

As for Ohno bouncing back, I wonder. Sho's weight loss was deliberate. Ohno's doesn't seem to be, it seems to be something that snuck up on him. Though I am surprised he's so skinny, especially after hearing about his yakiniku trips with Sho and Aiba during the Dream-A-live tour.

As for Wiki, I don't think it's very accurate because it lists Nino as 53kg but he's supposedly 49kg last I heard. I'm really curious as to what each of their weights are at the moment. Sho is probably the one in best shape though not by much. After watching AnS 92, I noticed that Aiba has very skinny legs and knobby knees so that worries me. Jun... well, we all know he and Nino are too skinny for their own good but Jun moreso because he's taller. >.>

[maiaide.livejournal.com]

12 hours with no food?? Unbelievable.

I don't know about previous years, but this seems to be one hell of a busy one for the boys. But that is no excuse for not eating, or eating well, especially when you live at home and have mom cook for you still! (I live on my own... that's my excuse for eating like crap. No one to look after me.)

They are all skinny and pretty much always have been. But Ohno was one of the more muscular ones of the bunch but that seems to have gone now. Jun has managed to stay about the same, I think, and if anything has gotten more fit (he doesn't look like a starving child with his shirt off now) and Aiba and Nino... well, I am tempted to think they don't have nearly the same rigorous schedules as the other 3 have had recently. Nino will do once his new drama starts but I don't think he could get any skinnier.

When you're already so thin or fit, what have you... when you get thinner -- its not hard to notice.

[blood-opal.livejournal.com]

I know, right? Sho even gave him a look and was like, "WHY?!"

I really wonder about the boys not eating when they're busy because don't places usually provide bentos for them or their managers would be able to watch over them and make sure they eat?

Aiba I've always thought was skinny because he had a high metabolism since he's usually a big eater so I don't think it's for a lack of trying. Sho's the only one approaching a normal weight. I read in an interview that he usually stuffs himself because he doesn't know when he's full. But even if he's stuffing himself and he's still so skinny (and actually looking skinner in that black T-shirt in the latest AnS), that kinda worries me.

[maiaide.livejournal.com]

Even if they are eating bentos, I can say they aren't that filling or healthy for you. I'm terrible when it comes to conveneince store food -- its a 1 minute or less walk away -- and I'm sure they are even worse than I am. But I suppose it comes with the job description. And depending on their roles or what have you. Even Kame went through a big loss for One Pound Gospel, did he not? In the June issue of Wink Up (this reminds me! I have it infront of my now) Kattun had a little page where they measured their waist sizes and they all ranged somewhere in the 70s except for Kame who was 65cm. And I didn't check it out at the time, but now I remember there being a "caution" note on his picture but I didn't get the dictionary out to see what it it said.

Hrm. I don't think they actually got to measure his waist, I think it says that they just measured his waistband so they think his waist is 65cm.

Okay, ending my tangent now.

[ayumwu.livejournal.com]

Kame was really skinny during NwP. Like, unhealthily skinny. And he's taller than Ohno. ==;

And, well, yes, he's Ohno, he supposedly loves food, but remember, it's because he's OHNO that it's not surprising that he'll forget to eat. :\

...And technically shouldn't their variety shows (AnS) supposedly feed them?

Maybe we need a course on how to quit fishing. XD Or just give him some Katsuo and tell him that he fished it up or something. He'll probably believe it.

[arashic0804.livejournal.com]

well ohno seem preety busy this year and i think when he start filming maou, he can b seen losing weight, getting tanned and eyes bag..maybe ohno do eat but his metabolisme works really fast as guy tends to have high metabolisme comapare to girls..to me i c nino also bcome more skinier than he already is...guess they are really busy with their work as arashi and personal job...but all we can do know is hope for the best for the guys..

[violentxxxpose.livejournal.com]

D:
40kg?? How can he possibly live like that?

For me, being busy isn't really a valid excuse to disregard health. I'm not assuming that I know what their life is like but to continue doing their job they should at least maintain proper health.

[polluxme.livejournal.com]

very interesting!!!

just to share some info ... I am around 170 cm tall and around the period that I'd been playing some sports, I used to weigh round 45 kilos= which made BMI at 15.6. and I can say that i was completely healthy and strong back then (even everyone keep saying that i'm too skinny) ... so I really really hope there'd be nothing to worry for our boys

I'm an asian girl and around me it seems normal for a girl to be skinny. but for boys, yeah, i agree that they should weight more

However, hearing this from you ... for them being that skinny, I think we'll have to worry about how stressful their lives might be (I mean my BMI I mentioned is during my happy high school years but they're some superstars who work hard and lead some secret private lives)

Let's hope there'd be no problem with their health .. :))

[maiaide.livejournal.com]

And I don't mean to say that having a low BMI automatically means you're unhealthy either.. I had a friend in school, she was Korean and taller slightly taller than me (about 170cm) and she was (and probably still is) around 40-45kg. She ate like a pig too! She just couldn't put on weight no matter how she tried. But.. even if you look at his shoots that were taken three months ago, his AU ads, he doesn't look as gaunt as he does now. :/

[polluxme.livejournal.com]

it's true that he really looks gaunt, I hope he's ok *is prayin*
Oh I forgot to mention that I remember Ohno or Nino (i'm not sure) said somewhere that Ohno has lost like 6 kilos during 1 month after the filming of Maou started --- so maybe he got really busy ?? (I know, i know , his life's crazy) -_-""

[maiaide.livejournal.com]

6kg in a month? I don't know if that's good or bad. Isn't losing 1-2 pounds (~1kg) a week supposed to be the healthiest way to do it? I guess it depends who you ask.

[techni-teddy.livejournal.com]

If he weighs 40kg, then it's definitely not a healthy weigh!
That being said, BMI is not a very accurate indicator of health either since it doesn't take into account body structure and the amount of muscle. Also, Ohno is Asian and I remember reading that there is a different range that is used for Asians that goes from 14~24.

So even though he's currently very skinny, hopefully he'll bulk back up once his schedule lightens up.

[maiaide.livejournal.com]

As I was posting this, I wondered about the.. what's the word I can't remember from high school science classs............. margin of error for race/ethnicity in the BMI. And I reached the limit of my productivity and didn't bother to google it. XD But that is true. Nor does it take into account metabolism (of which asians are blessed with a higher rate than caucasians) or any other individual body stuff. So, my post didn't end up being as great as I thought. :/ But 40kg! He's 27, not 15!

[techni-teddy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think they only recently introduced it cos asians were constantly getting underweigh scores then they were perfectly healthy and had no eating problems. And I only know coz I had too much time a while ago :P
But in Ohno's case, it's definitely not a healthy weight for a 164cm, 27 year old male, regardless of his specific physical characteristics. I hope the other members force feed him after that show ^^;

[melonz139.livejournal.com]

margin of error only apply for ethnicity when they are babies. asian babies are practically smaller than european, however, in adult will be the same bmi we are using. despite that, if you look at asian babies that were born in european countries, the birth weight pretty much the same as in european babies. ethnicity certainly a factor but out of tens of others, i'm afraid.

[nyonyo.livejournal.com]

Remember that right before the Dome tour, he was doing Amatsukaze. Often two shows a day, and I think...four or five days a week? And the movement in that was insane: the fight sequences were all like incredibly elaborate dance choreography, it really felt like three minutes of talking, then three minutes of a fight sequence, rinse, repeat, almost the entire show. People were commenting back then that his weight really dropped: moving like that constantly, there's no way it couldn't. And they had Dome rehearsal at the same time the shows were going on, so I think there must have been days he was doing little else but dancing all the time...

He had less than two weeks between Amatsukaze and the Dome tour starting, and then started doing Maou while the tour was going on. I think this is more a case of him not having any time to really recover from the huge weight drop before.

That said, the way they threw it into the conversation tonight, "Oh, yeah, Leader's 40 kilos, LOL!" like it wasn't a big deal, even though they told him to eat more, was mildly unsettling to my mind. But that level of unsettling also seems to lean towards the norm in Japan, at least in my experience, so... :/

[maiaide.livejournal.com]

It definitely is. Everywhere it's pushed on you that you should be skinnier no matter what. I saw some informercials the other day for these socks that are supposed to make your legs skinnier if you wear them. Who cares about how fat your calves are?! Oh maybe Japanese girls do because they were heels 24/7 (that don't fit, I might add) and have built up the muscles in their legs over the years. Geez, can you tell how annoyed at Japanese fashion trends I am? Haha.

I totally forgot about his stageplay! And didn't he mention in an interview he lost like 3 litres of sweat each show? And maybe I/we are blowing it out of proportion because we where come from, 40kg for anyone who isn't 12 isn't considered "normal".

Weight aside though... he doesn't look healthy. I am cringing as I watch Maou because of the sallow look of his skin and the bags under his eyes and that can't all be from the make up artist. Even his shoot for Bidan? Skinny is one thing but...

[nyonyo.livejournal.com]

I'm sure I'd probably care about that a lot as a Japanese girl, considering the popularity of short-shorts as the reigning fashion trend of the moment...

The stage play is definitely where he dropped the most weight. I remember even when the press conference aired, people were exclaiming even then over how he'd lost the chubby cheeks. In Maou, it's gotten really noticable, though, I agree. And the Japanese messageboards have quite a number comments exclaiming over how gaunt he looks, too, so you're not imagining it.

But, while all of Arashi is really overworked these two weeks to prepare in advance for Sho's leaving for Beijing, once August hits and Sho is gone, that'll be three weeks vacation from all the regular group activities. Hopefully all of them will be able to rest up for a bit then before the craziness hits at the end of the month. :)

[mee-goreng.livejournal.com]

My friend is 155-158cm and she weighs 43kg and she looks very bony..... I can't imagine Ohno being 165cm and weighs only 40kg..... It seriously scaring me...

I understand he used to say he was fat but i think he's not at all except for his chubby cheeks.... Then he lost 10 kg for Maou.... but it's getting a bit unreasonable now.... I love his chubby cheeks. Why do he has to lose that?! I was a bit shock when aatash@LJ mentioned him looking like a stick. Because in the last AnS he looked a bit thinner but still looks fine to me....

Please eat more Oh-chan!

[blood-opal.livejournal.com]

Because in the last AnS he looked a bit thinner but still looks fine to me....

That's what I thought too. And then they dropped this bomb. I think it's probably because his clothes are always kinda baggy so you don't notice how skinny he really is unless he's wearing a tight shirt which he never does.

[mee-goreng.livejournal.com]

Ditto!

I can't wait for someone to upload it so that i can watch it.... I really wanna see how thin he is now. It's kinda baffling me....

[still-ciircee.livejournal.com]

Kicking in as the Devil's Advocate:

Ohno doesn't live in a vacuum. He's surrounded by people who care about him--his family, Arashi, his other friends, co-workers like Toma, his manager, directors--there are people there to step in if things are extreme. Especially if Ohno were losing weight for no real apparent reason. But the fact is that Ohno is very busy and some of that busy is very physical stuff. And some of it requires travel which cuts down on time to eat/sleep/de-stress. Besides which, Ohno is a grown man and I'm sure he knows his limits and respects them.

Bottom line: Ohno is part of an industry that has heavy workloads. Some of his jobs are insanely physical and some demand long hours. I think he's doing the best he can but that he is ALSO not used to having this much work all at once.

And...I think that we might be able to consider calling attention to it on TV as Arashi's way of addressing the worried fans. A sort of 'we know, we're on it' moment.

[maiaide.livejournal.com]

Touche. All food for thought. XD I'm so punny. I bet they all went out for a big meal of ramen after that filming.

[still-ciircee.livejournal.com]

I have to think that way otherwise I will fly to Japan and be arrested for throwing doughnuts at idol stars.

[maiaide.livejournal.com]

Forget idols! Throw rice balls and melon bread at all the normal people you see walking around! It's not just the stars.

I wonder if Ohno's mom made an extra fatty meal for him after catching that episode tonight just because. That will keep me happy. OhnoMama will take care of her baby boy.

[ayumwu.livejournal.com]

Or mailing fifty million boxes of food at them per day? XD

Maybe they should put Ohno in K8 for the time being...XD

[melonz139.livejournal.com]

I heard the reason he is skinny and bone currently is for Maou ( apparently the director want him to lose that baby fat on his cheeks to make him older). I don't know how reliable the information is but yes, I, as well, am worried about their BMI. Actually I am quite worried about all johnny's boys to be frank.

[ladyxs.livejournal.com]

i was wondering about this too as soon as i heard on himitsu today that he was 40kg....40 kg????????? i don't know...i hope they were just exaggerating. 40 kg is seriously too thin!!!!
I very much doubt that ohno has an eating disorder (i'm really praying hard for none of them to go through that XD) He really does love food, and the thing is they did tell him to lose 10kg for maou recording. I'm thinking that, and what you said about all the current projects going on, is the reason behind this terrible weight.

Please eat more, ohno!!!! T_T

[honooko.livejournal.com]

#1. Body Mass Index is completely inaccurate as a way to measure health, proper weight, etc. I have spent my entire life being between 14.8 and 16.8 (underweight) and my doctors have never once worried.

#2. Japanese people are smaller. So even if you wanted to pretend BMI worked, you have to adjust for that.

#3. Ohno has been this small before. Everytime they start getting really busy, they all drop pounds. It's a little scary for us to see, but they honestly aren't in danger; as soon as the drama ends, Ohno will add 5kgs again. He's done it during every single play run he's ever had.

#4. You cannot, I repeat, cannot judge if someone has an eating disorder just by looking at them. You know what else causes extreme weight loss, sallow skin, hair loss, weakness, etc? Thyroid disorders, gastric disorders (that in turn make eating difficult), drug abuse, even prescription drugs. Not only is it very, very inaccurate to judge whether someone has an ED without knowing them personally and examining their lifestyle as a trained medical professional, but it's incredibly disrespectful to those who DO have them and suffer from them.

Sorry to soapbox you here, but you need to chuck BMI out the window, because it's useless.

[julietbunny.livejournal.com]

My height and 88 pounds? GoodNESS. That's really shocking.
I don't think we need to watch out for him to go fainting on us, but just because they "do it all the time" doesn't mean it's healthy. Stress combined with weightloss? Never good. However, I agree he'll probably bounce back when he finishes with Maou.
Of course, for Johnnys, "bouncing back" means being my height and weighing 100 pounds :S

[booksandsarcasm.livejournal.com]

Oh, but... I'm sure I read somewhere that he dropped like, 20 kg or something to play Maou...

[jamiesteban.livejournal.com]

whhaaatttt???!!! A BMI of 14.5???!!! seriously, I'm also a 5'5'', (latest) 40.1 kg girl...!!! I have a skinny appearance and a pale looking face! OHNO! What the hell is happening to you? Please get use to your work and please EAT! huhu... Is it really tru??? huhu... I can't believe it... my poor OHNO... Nino (and the others) should do something with it!

[shini-no-shisha.livejournal.com]

I think more then an eating disorder it might be more bad eating habits! And also these guys are extremely active! In other word with all the activities they have they lose weight easily. Further more recently the boys have been getting busier by the day which probably mean that their eating habits have become terrible. Like being forced to skip meal because of work or eating less at 1 or 2 meals because there's no time. I know usually Ohno has proper diner since he showed a pic of what's waiting for him at home but with his busy schedual maybe his lunch and breakfast aren't as good as they should be.

I do hope he gets a bit more fat in him though ^^;;;;

[cynthiashoe.livejournal.com]

He does not look like he's 5'5". Most celebrities lie on their heights too so whatever their official height is... he's probably shorter than that.

[yamajunkamekun.livejournal.com]

i watched the other day the stageplay "WestsideStory" and i noticed that he waz really well portioned on the bottom half of his body and the upper body as well......but that waz like in 2004 its 2008 now he's getting older and he's been very busy with concerts,interviews,tvshows,dramas,singing,taking photos...so i mean he everywhere and i guess he doesnt have the time to eat or if not he has a fast metabolism.....i worry for him alot cause i know his appearance i think has change a lil bit but i know its cause hes a very busy guy.......hey, he must have lost his baby fat too...could be that as well

[zedstar.livejournal.com]

Ok- first up is a warning about the whole BMI thing. I used to work in an X-ray clinic where we would have to do bone density measurements- which would calculate based on height, weight and THEN a radiometry reading. **There was a particular setting for ASIANS** this is because they have much less dense bones than caucasians, and what is completely normal for asians would register as osteoporosis in caucasians. Asians in general have a much, MUCH lower body weight than caucasians, and unless it were a BMI specifically for asians, then it won't be appropriate. Also of course, the BMI doesn't take into account body shape or type- eg- Nino has a TINY frame, so what's a healthy weight for him is definitely NOT for someone like Sho who has a much larger frame. For instance, my BMI registers me as somewhere near the obese level- however, I've actually been told by health professionals that I'm only a little bit overweight. For me to get to what is considered healthy, is (for me) underweight. This is due to my short, but very solid body type (I could kick through a wall- plus of course my friends saying "yeah but you've got two extra kilos in your bra")

So really, what I'm saying is that it shouldn't be THAT worrying. It's not at the level where it would be affecting his health (yet). I very much doubt that Ohno's doing it deliberately, but he is VERY busy. I know that I'm a type who when I'm busy I'll forget to eat, or will eat very little, but given his current schedule, he would have to be eating constantly to keep up with the level of activity that he'd be doing. I know that Ohno is far less worried about his weight than the other boys are about their own, so I'm sure that once Maou is finished he'll gradually get back to his normal weight.

In regards to his tanning, being from a country with the highest prevalence of skin cancer, the boys already said that it's because he goes fishing for AAAAAAAAAGES without putting on sunscreen... This concerns me, and it also explains some of his bad skin. A little bit of sun is good for the skin (vitamin D- as a note- this is also necessary for building healthy bone strength) but too much causes huge amounts of damage, and can lead to poor skin.

Of more concern for me would be Jun who puts on and loses weight very easily, since he needs to work harder to maintain a healthy weight.

Anyway, Ohno, I still love you, but try to sneak in a sammich every now and then. (If possible, have Toma hand feed it to you, it'll be better that way)

[ayumwu.livejournal.com]

Ack, I've heard that he has to put on sunscreen EVERYWHERE he goes because he's supposed to have that pale, sallow look or something to match his character.

[buttrflikissr.livejournal.com]

actually, they didnt say he weighted 40kg on himitsu last night. they said leader finally hit the 40kg - dai.. so that could be anywhere from 40-49...
either way, he is still a plasma screen tv

[eyeslikefirefly.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure I heard somewhere that he's on a diet, so his mom is only serving him certain foods right now.
I thinking it was on Hanamaru Cafe, but you can double check to see if I'm crazy or not. XD;

The weights they mention in magazines...they could be lying about them. Because in Nino's latest bio update he said he was 208cm tall. That would make him 6'10", which he obviously isn't. @_@;; Though, I don't disagree with you that he has lost weight- but I'm sure he'll gain it back once he has a little bit more of a break again. Heck, he may even gain some of it back during the Asia tour with all the delicious foods to eat around there. *_*

From that I've heard and my friends have seen, Japanese girls can be pretty bad when it comes to staying skinny. There are some who think it's natural to just go to the bathroom and throw up everything they eat- in groups. My friend went out to eat with some Japanese girls and they were like, "Let's go to the bathroom!" And while she was in there with them she heard them all throwing up. @_@; I'm not saying all Japanese girls do it, because that's obviously not true. But the way they do it is pretty scary (and I know it happens in other places around the world too, but the way they're so natural about it in Japan is just frightening, I think in the States it's a more private thing to do than public).

But they run around all day doing lots of work- especially during concert time, you can't really expect them NOT to lose weight... @_@;;

[maiaide.livejournal.com]

Its true! Aiba will probably organize a Xiao Long Bao hunt in Taiwan and Shanghai and then do an A no Arashi experiment to see which ones are better. HAH.

It really is a phenomenon in Japan that I haven't seen anywhere else. And frightening. I'm all for weight loss (if only I could do it) but in a healthy and controlled manner. It's the group mentality thing they have going on here.

[rayray0826.livejournal.com]

Wow, I am shocked to hear this! I don`t think he has an eating disorder, either.

But, I wish I could lose and gain that easily....

[celestia-414.livejournal.com]

I'm more concerned about Nino, because he's starting a new drama, and he really can't lose any weight. He's just sooo skinny already. At least Ohno had a bit of weight that he could afford to lose, though I hope he gains it back soon. I think Aiba and Sho are fine. Jun...well, he's always been kind of gangly and skinny. I think he's just naturally that way, isn't he?

[k-littlebraver.livejournal.com]

I hope it's a misinformation on that show, the current Ohno looks more like a 50kg (or 49kg) instead of 40kg. Plus, he's not exactly skin and bone.

[ichaa.livejournal.com]

aaarrghh,ohchan!!
you really make us worried!!
please EAT!
huaaa...

[heartangel103.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... You know I started noticing that Ohno's in bad shape when I saw their Music Station One Love performance. I was so scared... He looked like HELL. He had big eyebags and his skin wasn't that good as before. Well, actually, come to think of it, all the boys in that performance really looked like HELL but it was Ohno that stuck to my mind. I never imagined he would look like that. I think with all his activities (concerts, drama, variety shows), his body is not just used to it. I think he still eats a lot (Haha... But of course, he's Riida!), but the stress is just too much...

[mayhemagenta.livejournal.com]

Hearing that makes me very worried about Ohchan.

I have a friend who's a track runner and competitive swimmer, and she's around 164-165(a little shorter than Ohno) and despite all her practices and workouts she weighs 48kg, which is still underweight. The fact that Ohno is taller than her yet EIGHT KILOS lighter scares me a lot.

In Pikanchi and Pikanchi Double I'd say Ohno was at his best, with the chubby cheeks and everything. To be THAT light now along with all the filming of Maou and all the Arashi talkshows I really think he should eat more.