AMAGASAKI, Japan — Lose weight or else!
June 23, 2008
Japan is a country where being overweight is not common. However, just to make sure that Japanese citizens do not compete with the United States, the fattest nation on the face of the earth, Japan has started something never seen before- A campaign to keep it’s citizen’s from getting fat.
It’s a government mandate on waist size!
Here’s the limits:
- Men- No more than 33.5 inches
- If your a woman, there’s a little bit more grace- An extra 2 inches to total 35.4 Inches.
There are some other exemptions:
- Those over 74 years old
- Sumo Wrestlers- ???
- Those who opt to end their life instead of losing weight.
This is a national law that went into effect over 2 months ago. I’m not making this up. Lose weight or else!
These government limits — 33.5 inches for men and 35.4 inches for women, are laws established in 2005 for Japan by the International Diabetes Federation as a guideline for identifying health risks.
Here’s the penalties for exceeding the limits:
- If you have a weight related ailment, you will be placed on a diet for 3 months, which is a good amount of time t for the average person to lose weight.
- if there are still no desired results after six months further education will be given.
You will have to pay for that extra fat!
No joke,the government will impose financial penalties on companies and local governments that fail to meet specific targets.
The Goal:
It’s always good to set goals, even government mandated goals can sometimes be helpful, like I said, “Lose weight or else”
- The goal in Japan is to shrink the overweight population by 10 percent over the next four years
- The long term goal is to shave off 25 % of fat in all of the country over the next 7 years.
The Freedom to choose
I’m not in favor of the government telling me what to do but here’s the question? “Would you rather have government mandated health care or government mandated waistlines?”
The good thing is that you still have a choice.
My advice is to choose to do it on you own accord instead of waiting until the government or even a doctor tells you that you have to do it!
Forget the appearance factors,reducing your waistline you instantly reduce a all kinds of diseases that are related to your girth. Including diabetes,
cancer and heart disease.
So there it is, “Lose weight or Else”
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