Pass the Sushi, Please

MSN Money recently posited the economic benefits to a United States without fat people. A quick read with a couple interesting did-you-knows:

• 66% of adults in the U.S. are overweight.
• 33% are obese.
• 4.7% are morbidly obese (more than 100 lbs. overweight).

Yikes. Those first two surprised me. For those of you wondering what the definition of obese is, well you're out of luck because it seems like there's a lot. But our good friend wikipedia says "it is commonly defined as a body mass index (weight divided by height squared) of 30 kg/m² or higher. For those interested, the following is an easy way to calculate your BMI. I just calculated mine, and at 25.1 I just crossed the overweight threshold. Damn. I knew I was getting fat but I hate it when the internet tells me I'm fat.

The article goes on to talk about the effects (mostly good, some bad) on our economy of a slimmer, trimmer country. The message? High school chicks should worry more about their weight and save me some money.

Crossing the Pacific, Japan is doing a little more than wondering aloud about the merits of a leaner country. A recent article in the SF Gate, details a new law in Japan that prescribes a limit for male waistlines at 33-1/2 inches. The penalty for being "afatso" (overweight, in Japanese)? You have to face Kobayashi in a hotdog eating contest!

OK, not really. According to the article, the penalty for breaking the law sounds like counseling, followed by more counseling if you continue to eat. What's the penalty for armed-robbery, a foot massage? Sheesh.

So the next time you think about hitting the drive thru, think of the Japanese who are starving because they are too afraid of breaking the law, and get a salad. A big taco salad.