Diet Bullying Japan's Fat People

One subject that this blog has covered innumerable times is about obesity and the public policy responses to it. Broadly stated, I understand that the fear created about the dangers of obesity are as wrong-headed as the approaches for reducing obesity. The consistent view on this blog has emphasized three points.

First, regard for personal freedom makes it difficult to support the view that governments should have to directly engage in patronizing behaviour by directing individuals about ideal weight. Secondly, the figures presented about the welfare losses from obesity are exaggerated and fail to account for the gains that emerge from early mortality that is claimed to result from obesity. Thirdly, if there's a compelling reason to interfere with the lifestyle choices of its citizens, then government should provide a monetary incentive such as was provided by the mayor of Varallo by paying citizens to lose the weight.

I maintain that this is still a sound approach but the government of Japan seems to prefer the sledge hammer approach. Here's an article on Cato Institute's site by John Luik and Patrick Basham that dissects the unbelievable folly that mandates all citizens aged 40 years and above to undergone measurement of the waist to identify the obese and demand the shedding of that weight within some time frames. As if that were not bad enough, the failure to successfully lose that weight would then lead to compulsory re-education on health.

Now, the idea is not only bad in principle but the tack taken towards re-education is a reminder of very intrusive Soviet and other oppressive regimes with little respect for individual liberty and personal choice. If this was not on the Cato Institutes's site, I would have dismissed it as a bad joke. I have not been to Japan but I imagine that few people in a society such as that would wish to be referred to as the Weight Commissar.