Why is weight loss necessary? The necessity of slimming in an appearance-obsessed society.

Why is it so important to lose weight?

So, how do sales figures change in environments where there's little choice? Inside the Shinkansen carriages, vendors push carts selling various drinks and bento boxes. Since it's the same train they run back and forth, it seems there's no difference in sales based on the vendor.

I travel to Osaka every week to lecture at universities, and taking the Shinkansen has become a regular occurrence. I've used these opportunities to confirm this with the vendors on several occasions.

They told me that sales volume is directly proportional to the proficiency of sales techniques. However, if everyone's sales skills are roughly equal, a vendor with a better appearance has a significant advantage.

Passengers in a hurry to buy a bento or a drink probably won't care which vendor it is, but whether they buy an extra snack or a small gift, the vendor's appearance plays a much larger role.

Female readers might sigh at this point, "Isn't it just because men can't resist the allure of beauty!" But it's not just that. Among the beer vendors in the baseball stadium stands, it's not just cute girls who sell well; handsome boys also do. Even male customers tend to choose the good-looking male vendors.

This phenomenon has long been incorporated into business strategies by astute business owners.

For example, when convenience store chains like Lawson and 7-Eleven open new stores, headquarters send attractive employees to help out, having cute girls and handsome boys handle change for customers.

These eye-catching employees disappear within a week, but they leave a positive first impression on customers within just a few days, influencing future sales.

Many older generations don't care about or even disregard "appearance," but in the business world, this mindset doesn't work.

Although such examples are given at the beginning, the purpose of this chapter is not to praise handsome men and beautiful women, nor to suggest that everyone hire them to make money.

Rather, it is to make everyone aware of this increasingly prevalent social phenomenon. We must first recognize this trend—that appearance will gradually become a key factor in future economic trends—before the discussion can continue.

The theme of this book is "losing weight." Regarding why people want to lose weight, some have suffered many setbacks because of being overweight; others see so many benefits of being thin and feel they will suffer even more if they don't.

However, people don't seem to fully understand the advantages of being thin and the disadvantages of being overweight; generally, they simply feel that "I have to lose weight" or "I must seriously consider losing weight."

Unconsciously, Japanese society is undergoing significant changes. The biggest change is the transformation into an appearance-oriented society that values ​​outward appearance. This change is not only reflected in superficial notions such as "nowadays, handsome men are admired" or "young people only pursue appearance," but has even become a primary factor in commerce and the economy.