The two countries we follow, the USA and Japan, are nowhere near converging towards a common culture. It looks like we are poised to keep doing the splits to understand both.
A few weeks ago, a Bloomberg headline read “McDonald’s Share Slumps as GLP-1 Risks Spur Rare Sell Rating.” A broker actually had downgraded the company’s investment rating by two notches from Buy to Sell. The decision was motivated by the significant increase in the number of Americans using drugs such as Ozempic for weight loss. The analyst believed that this could lead to a decline in McDonald’s sales. The report also cited concerns about changes in consumer behavior and inflation.
Meanwhile, in Japan, where inflation was hitting consumers later than in other countries, McDonald’s was expanding sales. In the same period, they were offering more-for-less deals, such as “Grand fries” and “Grand drinks” respectively containing 1.7 and 2 times the quantity of medium-sized fries and drinks, for a fraction of the normal extra cost.
We are not sure which is the healthiest, of taking pills to eat less or eating an extra portion just because it comes for free. If things remain the way they are, though, the typical imagery, which has long been portraying Americans as obese and Japanese as short and thin, may need to be revisited.
KH – Aug. 13, 2025