Importing Japan’s Fat Penalties
As waistlines continue to expand in Japan, the country’s lawmakers are taking the unusual step of fining companies that employ overweight workers, an approach that diet experts say would likely meet with failure in the United States. Companies would be sued left and right for “discrimination.”
Weight-loss groups in Japan exercise together, singing inspirational weight-loss songs with lyrics such as “Goodbye, metabolic. Let’s get our checkups together. Go! Go! Go!” Meanwhile, posters in Japan feature rotund cartoon figures with buttons popping off their pants urging people to overcome “metabo.” The goal measurements for Japanese men’s and women’s waist circumferences are 33.5 inches and 35.4 inches, respectively — guidelines straight from the International Diabetes Federation in Belgium. People who exceed these measurements will be targeted for health education initiatives. If they fail to lose the extra inches, their employers could be fined.
As a country with more than one-third of its population classified as obese, the U.S. might benefit from a stringent program like Japan’s. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 78 million Americans are obese.
Japan has a system of universal health coverage divided into a national system, and employees health insurance in which membership is mandatory. The question would then imply that a US system of univeral health coverage exist. Which it does not.
