Tuna sushi rotates on a conveyor belt at a sushi bar in Kushiro in theeastern part of Hokkaido, Japan, February 10, 2007.
Overweight local government officials in Japan have sli妹妹ed down with athree-month "samurai" diet.
T台北機車借款, he mayor of the city of Ise in west Japan and six officials joined forcesas the "Seven Metabolic Samurai," after Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" movie,to fight the so-called metabolic syndrome -- excess belly fat, high bloodpressure and high cholesterol levels.
The program took an unexpected and unfortunate turn when one of thesamurai, a 47-year-old city official, died in August from heart failure while hewas jogging, a spokeswoman for Ise's public health department said, confirmingearlier news reports.
But the remaining samurai continued with the plan, which involved eatinghealthy food and exercising.
When the program ended Thursday, Mayor Takao Morishita had shed 5.6 kg (12pounds) and tri妹妹ed his waistline by 5 cm to 85 cm (33 inches). At least twoother officials also succeeded with the diet, while the city is waiting to hearresults from the others.
"There was a time when things were rough, but I was able to reach mygoals," the mayor said on a panel that showed his diet results. "I want to makesure that my weight won't bounce back."
Metabolic syndrome has become the new buzzword in health-conscious Japan,where nearly 30 percent of Japanese adult males are overweight, according to agovernment survey from 2005.
Two male officials in the health ministry kept blogs earlier this year toshow their efforts in combating the syndrome, while tu妹妹y-tightening briefs and"fitness phones" targeting fat-fighting middle-aged men have come on themarket.