It's illegal to be fat in Japan

In my opinion it would never work in the US. Health is just not something that most of us americans put as a priority. Its unfortunate but very true. When you watch servers walk out with enormous portions enough to actually feed 3 grown adults...then you tend to watch that person polish that plate. Leaves an awful taste in my mouth personally. Wish people would take some more pride in themselves!

don't you dare regulate my twinkies!!! ;P

i'd expect they would have to make exceptions for those with medical conditions that make a trim waist-line impossible to achieve (certain medications can cause weight gain, or make weight loss nearly impossible). also, there needs to be some sort of ratio - height vs waist? i'm just as proportionately slim as women taller than i am, yet i surely have a tinier waist simply for being short and petite. and part asian (thus being able to eat all the junk i want without weight repercussions ^_^).

33.5 inches, what? I know guys with barely any fat that have bigger waists than that, it should be based on the BMI or something similar.

Just wondering...how come the women get to be fatter than the men?

This is a great idea, as long as the government is paying for the medical attention needed! If not, i'll just continue eating my arroz con pollo!

How can you become overwieght in the first place? I mean, the average person basically eats rice for a meal, and this is hardly fattening.

Brilliant!!!

It's no surprise that Japan has the ability to administer such programs. In Japan, this program is viewed as incentive-based, not discriminatory, as it would naively be coined in the US.

I presume that the logical explanation is that Japan's collective intelligence strongly correlates with the collective intelligence of the Current community. Unfortunately, the US resides on the opposite side of the reason scale, much like the YouTube community. :-(

Can't say it will work completely... but it sure will help people stay more in health... about the fast food companies, this might result in economic losses.

8 1/2 months ago I was 327 lbs. For you kids across the pond, thats 148.32 Kg. I was morbidly fat. I carried it well, but I was. For the longest time I hated myself. Now, I'm 192 lbs (87.08 kg) and fighting fit. Trust me, I took drastic measures to defeat that part of myself. I wouldn't do it any different.

Now, just gotta get running or something... *pokes loose skin.*

Money Booze Good Times thats what people here in the USA like ,,,,to just pig out & watch TV ( thats whay there are so many fat lazy ass people here ) Glad i am not one of em & please don't talk to me about I should look at the reasons IF ITS NOT AH MEDICAL THING LIKE GLANS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT ! Other then that this then this mean YOU !

Japan is always one step ahead.

Cool idea though it needs to be edited a tad. I know that on average the Japanese are smaller then most so the waist proportions sound about right, but what about foreigners that work there? They should take a BMI count instead, it'll give a more accurate figure.

It really ought to be body fat %age.

So why do they worship sumo wrestlers?

can we have this here in america or would that be...in a sense wrong? or unjust? i wouldn't mind it but i could also see alota people purpously trying to gain weight to get in trouble, like me.

japanese ww2 anti-american posters show us as pale fat gorillas. they consider lack of self control, shameful.
there must be an exemption for sumo, the national sport. leave it to the japanese to make fat a martial art.

What about the sumo people???? THEY HAVE RIGHTS!!!!!!!!

o my god! thats really weird/mean, but i guess its a good idea, keeps people in shape lol

Part of me is against this because it's taking away a person's right to choose their body weight and how much they eat, but another part of me realizes that overweight and unhealthy citizens has negative consequences for all, including increased healthcare costs.

And yeah, it'd be interesting to see how this rule applies to foreigners.

Well at least the signs are cute

I'm waiting for the OMGDISCRIMINATION cries. ... but I think it's a pretty rad idea, though it would need to be tweaked a little bit for those of us in America who are sensitive to being called fat.

If the US government wants to enforce something like this, they will first have to take the blinders off and go after the fast food industry -- and restaurants that serve ginormous portions...but of course that would require putting people's interests ahead of corporations.

I've always been told, the world is made of all shapes, and sizes, so I'm just a lil perplex,by the conformity of a country that prouds it's self on being advance, to put such a pressure of self image among it's people!!!!

It would never work in the US. What do you think the waistline requirements would be for place like Texas?

I would be content with taxing the producers of harmful products like twinkies, choco tacos and big macs much like we do with tobacco.

There is one BIG BIG problem with this There is an assumption that because your waistline is past a certain length, it automatically makes you fat. What they're not taking into account is being FIT. They documented a 5'8 person, weighing at around 200 pounds, and is a marathon running who was perfectly healthy. Yes, the mass body index indicated that he had too much fat and would be prone to diseases such as heart disease. But, when they monitored his body, his heart was regular, blood pressure was regular, etc. He was perfectly fine.

Also, just because someone is "thin," doesn't mean they are healthy. There are a lot of people who are the average weight and height who are extremely unhealthy such as high blood pressure, enlarged heart, etc.

Oooo Japan... :/