Junior comedians worry about Tetsuro Degawa’s picky eating: “He won’t live long” — can’t drink water, hooked on juice instead

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The story

Tetsuro Degawa appeared on TV Tokyo’s “Zubora ni Kenko! Karada ni Iiwake” (roughly, “Lazy but Healthy: Excuses for Your Body”) on the 16th, where his eating habits came under the spotlight in a segment about managing blood sugar. His close friend Kazuki Iio of the comedy duo Zun revealed in a video message that Degawa “can’t drink water” and “loves carbonated drinks and fresh juice,” prompting fellow comedians to voice concern about his life expectancy. This sparked a debate on 5ch between users who consider excess sugar intake more dangerous than alcohol and those who countered that it isn’t carcinogenic. The thread went on to bring up an anecdote about Warren Buffett, a debate over zero-sugar cola, and even whether talent on food shows should be required to submit health checkup results.

Sep 17 (Thu) 17:06

Comedian Tetsuro Degawa appeared on TV Tokyo’s “Zubora ni Kenko! Karada ni Iiwake” (Wednesdays at 6:25 PM) on the 16th, where junior comedians expressed concern over his diet.

The show brought in a renowned doctor to cover blood sugar management. During the segment, a video message was shown from Kazuki Iio of the comedy duo Zun, a close personal friend of Degawa’s. Iio said, “(Degawa) basically can’t drink water. He says it’s because ‘it has no flavor.’ So it’s carbonated drinks for him — like sparkling water, which America gave the world. And juice has to be fresh juice, 100 percent. I guess he likes things with a strong, distinct taste.”

Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / original article here

What people said

2AnonymousSep 17, 2026 18:51
Because watching Peace-kun at Omiya Park in person is more fun than watching Peace-kun at Omiya Park on YouTube, y'know.
3AnonymousSep 17, 2026 18:51
Nainai (the comedy duo) used to say he'd be dead by 60, and yet here he is, still going strong.
6AnonymousSep 17, 2026 18:54
Juice is the worst offender.
Dunno for sure, but you probably shouldn't drink it more than alcohol.
108AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:35
Re: #6
No way.
It's not carcinogenic anyway.
7AnonymousSep 17, 2026 18:54
People who say they only eat one meal a day worry me way more.
8AnonymousSep 17, 2026 18:55
Degawa's got the stamina too — he's basically like a guy in his 40s.
9AnonymousSep 17, 2026 18:55
Sugar and carbs are the real danger.
Juice is basically poison.
Strong Zero (canned chu-hi) is the only way to go.
97AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:30
Re: #9
Can't believe people are still saying this.
14AnonymousSep 17, 2026 18:58
I never crave sweet drinks except when I'm worn down by heat or fatigue.
Tea goes best with meals — I've felt that way since my teens.
And he's the son of a seaweed-shop owner, yet his taste buds are like a kid's.
100AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:32
Re: #14
Well, if he had normal taste he'd have taken over the family seaweed shop.
15AnonymousSep 17, 2026 18:58
Coca-Cola is the way to go when you're traveling.
Consistent quality, and the acidity means you won't get an upset stomach lol
16AnonymousSep 17, 2026 18:59
People really don't change their ways until they actually get sick.

That's what everyone says, no matter who you ask.
17AnonymousSep 17, 2026 18:59
Well, there's the Dr Pepper granny, after all.
18AnonymousSep 17, 2026 18:59
If it's between zero-sugar cola and regular cola, regular's still the lesser evil.
Well, in Degawa's case, just look at his build — it's probably not an exaggeration, he really does eat like that.
The fact that he's still pulling off grueling location shoots is honestly impressive.
87AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:26
Re: #63 Re: #18
Honestly, before all that, I just think zero-sugar cola tastes better lol
Regular cola's too sweet for me.
21AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:00
But he's actually outlasted Date-chan (a fellow comedian). Hernia and all.
22AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:00
He doesn't have kids, so just let the guy live how he wants.
24AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:01
I've been overeating and overdrinking my whole life, I'm 45 now and my stomach's a wreck.
I get diarrhea right after eating.
My liver numbers are bad too…
Somebody help me.
30AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:04
Re: #24
If your numbers are bad, go to a hospital and get medication to bring them down.
Keep taking it and clean up your lifestyle too, and it'll mostly get better.
It's foolish not to use the healthcare system to improve when medical costs and drug prices are this cheap in this country.
48AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:11
Re: #24
As long as you're not obese, you're still fine.
25AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:01
He's not really doing that well though — he nearly died a few years back.
26AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:02
Degawa's gotta be pushing 60 by now, right?
And he's still doing physical, body-on-the-line comedy at the top level — nothing to worry about.
Whenever he goes, he'll probably go happy.
27AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:02
He's probably already outlived the typical lifespan for men in the Degawa family.
His older brother's still alive too, I think.
28AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:02
Ai Iijima once said, "The tap water at my place tasted so bad, afterward I could only stomach Mamy."
29AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:03
Guess there really are people out there who can't drink plain water.
Though honestly, even sparkling water barely has any taste unless you mix it with something.
56AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:14
Re: #29
Degawa doesn't even drink sparkling water though.
31AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:05
Buffett's been drinking 5 cans of Coke a day and he's 96.
33AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:05
Coca-Cola uses inorganic acid, Pepsi uses organic acid —
lately I've been leaning toward the latter. Guess that's a sign of age.
34AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:06
If they're going to make talent eat on camera, maybe they should require them to submit health checkup results.
36AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:07
That character is literally how he makes his living —
if he changed it, the guy wouldn't be able to survive in showbiz.
53AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:13
Didn't he say he's mindful of his health and usually drinks black bean tea?
The "I only ever drink cola" thing might just be shtick for the cameras.
57AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:15
Re: #53
Apparently he drinks black soybean tea for throat care.
I started drinking it too after hearing that, and it's actually pretty good, so I've kept it up.
63AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:16
Zero-sugar cola is the only option.
Regular cola's got like 13 sugar cubes in it.
91AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:26
Is his belly from drinking too much juice, I wonder?
96AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:29
Re: #91
I did that too for a while — drank only cola and juice instead of water or tea,
and I just kept gaining weight, ended up about 20kg heavier.
Once I quit juice, I gradually slimmed back down to normal.

Background and Key Points of the Discussion

The show “Zubora ni Kenko! Karada ni Iiwake” brings in renowned doctors to cover blood sugar management, and Degawa’s inability to drink water along with his preference for carbonated drinks and fresh juice was introduced as one example. On the thread, the view that “excess sugar is more dangerous than alcohol” clashed with the counter-view that “it isn’t carcinogenic,” and the discussion took the shape of a classic online health debate, complete with the anecdote of Warren Buffett drinking cola daily while living to a ripe old age. Another point of debate was whether talent appearing on food shows should be required to submit health checkup results. Company employees in Japan are legally required, under the Industrial Safety and Health Act, to undergo an annual health checkup, but freelance entertainers face no such requirement — a gap that feeds the perception that “TV has lax compliance standards.” While the link between sugar intake and blood sugar levels is medically well established, opinions within the thread remained divided on the comparison with alcohol and on whether it’s carcinogenic, so it’s worth noting that no definitive conclusion was reached.

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Breaking News+) thread “Junior comedian Soichi Nakaoka worries about Tetsuro Degawa’s diet: “There’s no way he’ll live long” — picky eating exposed: “fish roe, mayonnaise, juice”.”

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