Militant Anti-Obesity on the Rise
The Far East is apparently the world’s epicenter of anti-obesity mania. Last fall we saw a story about an immigrant to New Zealand whose wife was refused entry into the country because she failed a Body Mass Index test. Now Japan has raised the stakes in the contest to be the country most hateful towards the overweight. The Junk Food Science blog reports:
Today, the Japanese government institutes its compulsory “flab checks” for all workers over the age of 40.
To stem Japan’s “soaring obesity,” the health ministry has mandated that all waistlines among its 56 million workers over age 40 be below “regulation size” of 33.5 inches (for men). Any company failing to bring its employees’ weight under control — as well as the weights of their family members — will be fined up to 10% of its earnings by the government.
The Guardian elaborates:
Health authorities hope the measures will arrest the rise in obesity among middle-aged men and slow soaring medical costs. All employees over 40 - about 56 million people - will be required to take the test to determine whether they are at risk of metabolic syndrome - symptoms associated with being overweight that, if left unchecked, increase the risk of strokes, heart disease and diabetes. Men with girths of more than 85cm (33.5in) will be given exercise and diet plans and, in urgent cases, told to see a doctor.
A 33 inch waist for men over 40? I think I might have had a 33 inch waist back when I was 13 or so. The stories don’t mention if sumo wrestlers get an exemption. Maybe this will fizzle when the Japanese realize that this law will effectively shut them out of the heavyweight classes of Judo and other wrestling-type sports in the Olympics and elsewhere.
Barking Moonbat Early Warning System comments:
Expect this attitude to spread worldwide within a short time. Fat people and smokers are the two groups people are actually encouraged to be prejudiced against. And white guys, but that doesn’t count.