Well, in a further effort to ensure that the ideas of the book, 1984, don’t go to waste, Japan is the latest to join the battle against obesity. I first heard about this article through Hungry-Girl and am so thankful that I don’t live in Japan.
Japan, Seeking Trim Waists, Measures Millions
The whole idea of the government and employers having that much control terrifies me. In particular, this statement disturbed me:
“With the new law, Matsushita has to measure the waistlines of not only its employees but also of their families and retirees.”
Wow, that’s alarming. My company did something similar to that about 15 years ago. They started a policy where employees hired to work at the airport in public contact positions had to be height/weight proportionate. It was actually in the job description. It wasn’t a health thing, they just wanted the employees that had interaction with the public to look nice.
At the time I worked at the airport and I remember thinking they wouldn’t hire me now (I was about 40 pounds overweight).
I really thinks the government should have no part of this. If I lived in Japan, I’d be furious if my company decided to measure my waist. Amazing!
Keep up the good work.