By Could you imagine what would happen in the US if lawmakers try to pass such a bill as this one in Japan?:
In Japan, being thin isn’t just the price you pay for fashion or social acceptance. It’s the law.
So before the fat police could throw her in pudgy purgatory, Miki Yabe, 39, a manager at a major transportation corporation, went on a crash diet last month. In the week before her company’s annual health check-up, Yabe ate 21 consecutive meals of vegetable soup and hit the gym for 30 minutes a day of running and swimming.
“It’s scary,” said Yabe, who is 5 feet 3 inches and 133 pounds. “I gained 2 kilos [4.5 pounds] this year.”
In Japan, already the slimmest industrialized nation, people are fighting fat to ward off dreaded metabolic syndrome and comply with a government-imposed waistline standard. Metabolic syndrome, known here simply as “metabo,” is a combination of health risks, including stomach flab, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, that can lead to cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Concerned about rising rates of both in a graying nation, Japanese lawmakers last year set a maximum waistline size for anyone age 40 and older: 85 centimeters (33.5 inches) for men and 90 centimeters (35.4 inches) for women. [Kompas]
According to the article the new legislation has caused a fitness boom in Japan as people are now trying to lose weight to ensure they meet the new standards. Here is why:
Under Japan’s health care coverage, companies administer check-ups to employees once a year. Those who fail to meet the waistline requirement must undergo counseling. If companies do not reduce the number of overweight employees by 10 percent by 2012 and 25 percent by 2015, they could be required to pay more money into a health care program for the elderly. An estimated 56 million Japanese will have their waists measured this year.
I wonder if it is legal for a company to fire someone for being fat if the company is being forced to pay more taxes because of them?
10:24 am on November 18th, 2009 1
What's legal and what's actually done are two very different things. Until someone pronounces it illegal or ignores the rule, law or not it will carry the rule of law.
I wonder what would happen if they did that in the new US health plan…
2:30 pm on November 18th, 2009 2
I love this. I smoke, yet am not overweight. My taxes between Florida state taxes and Federal taxes went up $700 this year. One pack a day.
I am so much in favor of those who are 'PC tobacco abolistionists' and overweight to pay their fair share into the health care of our people through government tax donations. (Its for the children, you know)
Taxing unfit and obese people in the US would cause government coffers to swell to enormous (no pun intended) proportions. Our debt problems would be over and we could buy China.
Hey people, its coming, you know it is. You started it yourself with the attempts to legislate peoples choices. Congress is on to it and knows its a cash cow. They are salivatating as we speak, thinking about all the extra funds going into their campaign slush funds.
I have said it before, 'Revenge is a plate best served cold.'
Woo hoo!
2:51 pm on November 18th, 2009 3
Year 2020: Congress just passed the second fast food subsidy act reducing the cost of the double quarter pounder with cheese to 9 cents to help feed impoverished Americans. This follows the recent Bucket O fried chicken for a dollar subsidy at KFC last week.
Congress said it is keenly aware of hunger in America and has vowed to stamp it out.
In other legislation people not weighing in on their birthdates will be subject to additional penalties such as community service at Golden Coral, Burger King, Wendys, or the local slop shute at the discression of the judicial (burp) district in which the criminal lives.
Weight penalties have been raised an additional $2 per pound this year, by congress, in hopes that it will prevent people from overeating. Several states have increased this by significantly more.
The president will speak tommorrow night on personal responsibility to stay healthy and eat well, and to report on their birthdates to be weighed.
3:49 pm on November 18th, 2009 4
As much of a libertarian as I am, if we have any sort of national health system we will need something like this to be implemented. Hell I'm a fan of it already. If it takes a law with additional penalties to get people to stop eating and start getting slimmer, then bring it on.
5:31 pm on November 18th, 2009 5
It'll never happen in the U.S. becuase it discriminates against certain ethnic groups and the poor, who are the groups with the highest obesity rates.
http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/index.html
5:56 pm on November 18th, 2009 6
Here's an idea. Why don't you kill to birds with one stone: quit smoking. You'll improve your health and you'll deprive the government of taxes.
10:09 pm on November 18th, 2009 7
[...] the original: Japan Passes Legislation Regulating Body Fat | ROK Drop Share and [...]
11:00 am on November 19th, 2009 8
Not a problem I've been quiting smoking for over 50 years now. Tried every remedy on the market including cold turkey. Last remedy (Chantrix) cost me over a hundred dollars last year.
If congress and the american people truely wanted people to quit smoking, they would raise the legal age to 19 next year then 20 the year after and so on and so forth, til its no longer an issue. Simple as that.
However it has become such a cash cow that congress continues to speak out of both sides of its mouth as they always have, when campaign contributions and money are concerned.
Until congress changes its way of doing business it will continue to be a problem.
Overweight people, step up to the scale please, you're next.
5:24 pm on October 17th, 2010 9
body fat is always not good to the body, it leads to other diseases-,`
5:36 pm on October 17th, 2010 10
DT, no body fat is very bad for the body, without it the body converts organs into energy leading to death.
GI, You have a serious spam bot intrusion. It looks like a lot of sponsors have purchased it from Whale f**kers to diet nazis.