Okay, so maybe it's not literally illegal to be fat in Japan. However, thanks to an anti-obesity law passed last year, Japanese salarymen across the nation are pulling up their shirts to have their guts measured... and if they're overweight, they face consequences.

Here's how it works. Say you're an average, hardworking Japanese salaryman (or woman) over the age of 40 who's been packing on the pounds thanks to a few too many Windows 7 whoppers. Your company's annual health checkup rolls around, and you have your waistline measured. If you're male and your waist is over 33.5 inches, you're considered fat. If you're female, the limit is 35.4 inches. Thanks to those burgers, you now have to attend mandatory counseling with a physician. For every grotesquely obese employee like yourself, your company gets hit by a fine; ergo, they strongly encourage you to lose weight with gifts of gym memberships and pedometers.

The goal of all this is to prevent Japan from experiencing an obesity epidemic like so many other industrialized nations. The theory is the less overweight people you have, the lower health care costs will be across the board. Although I think the waistline restrictions are a bit strict (how is a six foot tall foreigner supposed to have a 33-inch waist?), this seems like a good idea overall. America could certainly benefit from less junk in the trunk... but would such a system work here?

The CNN video report on this issue (which refuses to embed properly) can be viewed here.

[Via Global Post]