This spring in collaboration with JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) we started a Slow Jogging project to prevent obesity in Micronesia, a subregion of Oceania, composed of thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean, south of Guam.



Micronesia is actually internationally famous (or rather infamous) for obesity! After the measurements, it turned our that while the average height is similar to that of the Japanese, the average weight is above 80kg which means average BMI of around 35.

Our project consists of a competition between 3 schools on Pohnpei Island with the winner being the school who loses the most weight. The way to do it is a diet program combined with Slow Jogging 3 times a week. The winner of the first edition in May this year was Saladak School, with 1.6kg lost on average. The winner of the individual prize lost as much as 8.8kg!

When we visited Micronesia for the measurements before the second edition, Slow Jogging popularity exceeded our expectations. The teachers of participating schools made students jog 3 times a week on breaks between lessons.

Slow Jogging in Oceania is on the rise! Let’s hope it will contribute to changing this beautiful area into a healthier place.

Big thanks to Ms Midori Kuriyama for this report.