Japan Wages a War on Obesity: The Way of the Samurai is Not Metabo

Metabo the Japanese nickname for overweight people is a term commonly used in a nation waging a war against obesity. Yes, you read that right, obesity. Now, Japan isn't a country you think of when you hear people talking about losing weight, overweight children and obesity being an epidemic. Unfortunately, that country is the United States. We even have a fairly new term coined called the Western diet that specifically describes our super-sizing, on the go, red meat eating and fried food loving palates.

Taking precautionary measures to a new extreme, Japan is taking no prisoners as it has implemented a national law requiring companies and local governments to measure the waists of people between the ages of 40 and 74. The government limits for women and men respectively are 35.4 inches and 33.5 inches. The average waistline for Japanese women is 28 inches and 32.8 for men; whereas, in the Unites States the average waistline for women is 36.5 inches and 39 inches for men.

This new waistline mandate is similar to measurements established three years earlier by the International Diabetes Federation. With the new law, companies must also measure the waistlines of their employees' family members as well as retirees. Companies like Matsushita, a producer of Panasonic products, will need to measure 80 percent of their employees. But, it doesn't stop there the new law requires that all companies must get 10 percent of their metabo employees to lose weight by 2012. By 2015, each company must increase the drop in their overweight staff by 25 percent. Failing to meet these criteria means facing financial penalties.

Metabo is really a shortened version for metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a condition in which people with abdominal obesity, cholesterol, hypertension and elevated blood glucose levels are at an increased risk for diabetes and vascular disease. The Health Ministry started campaigning against metabolic syndrome in Japan and the anti-metabo slogans throughout the country gave physicians an "in" to discuss weight loss strategies with their patients. Companies are dissuading employees from eating fast foods which have more calories than the traditional Japanese meal of miso soup, vegetables and fish. The caloric intake for a traditional meal is 600 calories compared to 1300 calories for a burger and fries at McDonald's. Businesses promote employees to take the stairs, participate in exercise regimens in the workplace and even distribute pedometers to keep in line with the new anti-metabo law. Failing to meet the new waistline requirements will carry hefty penalties. NEC, a major Japanese distributor of personal computers faces a penalty of 19 million if it doesn't meet the national quota.

However, while many have gotten their waistlines measured there are dissenters to this new policy. Take 73 year old Kenzo Nagata. The toy store owner refuses to comply with the new law and has ignored a summons to get his waist measuring check-up stating, "I'm not going. I don't think that concerns me." Even health experts aren't certain that the government needs to require such strict guidelines that are impossible to meet. They believe that the underlying goal is to pass the health care costs onto the private sector. Currently, the Japanese are mostly insured through public health care or their employers.

While some blame the introduction of western fast food such as McDonald's for the rising health concerns, others believe that focusing entirely on obesity is an ineffective approach. Dr. Minoru Yamakado supports the preventive stand that the government has taken. However, he believes the priority should shift toward anti-smoking efforts. Japan has one of the highest rates of smokers for an advanced nation and smoking is a risk factor for metabolic syndrome. Japan may have the right idea regarding prevention. However, using a modern day iron fist approach by hitting companies and local governments where it hurts most - their pockets, may not be the best way to get a hold on preventing vascular disease and diabetes.

Sources: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/world/asia/13fat.html?_r=1&ref=asia&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin