Well at least in Japan that is what can happen.

My husband told me he heard this on CCN News the other day and I just had to find out what he was talking about. I found this article: Japan, Seeking Slim Waists, Measures Millions (June 13, 2008).

Excerpt:  Amagasaki, Japan — Under a national law that came into effect two months ago, companies and local governments must measure the waistlines of Japanese people between the ages of 40 and 74 as part of their annual checkups. That represents more than 56 million waistlines, or about 44 percent of the entire population.

Those exceeding government limits - 33 1/2 inches for men and 35.4 inches for women, (guidelines established 2005 for Japan by the International Diabetes Federation in 2005), and suffering from a weight-related ailment will be given dieting guidance if after three months they do not lose weight. If necessary, those people will be steered toward further re-education after six more months.
To reach its goals of shrinking the overweight population by 10 percent over the next four years and 25 percent over the next seven years, the government will impose financial penalties on companies and local governments that fail to meet specific targets.  But critics say that the government guidelines - especially the one about male waistlines - are simply too strict and that more than half of all men will be considered overweight. The effect, they say, will be to encourage overmedication and ultimately raise health care costs.  Yoichi Ogushi, a professor at Tokai University’s School of Medicine near Tokyo and an expert on public health, said that there was “no need at all” for the Japanese to lose weight.  “I don’t think the campaign will have any positive effect.  Ogushi said, “But the Japanese are so slender that they can’t afford to lose weight.”

NEC, Japan’s largest maker of personal computers, said that if it failed to meet its targets, it could incur as much as $19 million in penalties. The company has decided to nip metabo in the bud by starting to measure the waistlines of all its employees over 30 years old and by sponsoring metabo education days for the employees’ families.

Some experts say the government’s guidelines on everything from waistlines to blood pressure are so strict that meeting, or exceeding, those targets will be impossible. They say that the government’s real goal is to shift health care costs onto the private sector.

You know if it’s going to cost a company money then the employer isn’t going to keep any one on who’s waist doesn’t measure up.   

I can understand a company having programs to help employees improve their health, but government imposed fines and regulations - no way!

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