because over in Japan, as reported in today's The New York Times by Norimitsu Onishi, "the new state-prescribed limit for male waistlines is a strict 33.5 inches." I don't know about the rest of you truck drivers, but I don't think I've ever had a 33.5 inch waist line. I went from cloth diapers to a 40 inch pair of pants, and ever since I've hovered at a 3XL. I don't wear anything that does not have an elastic waist, as my girth expands as the day goes on. In Japan, I would be called METABO, the PC word for overweight.The Times continues: "Under a national law that came into effect two months ago, companies and local governments must now 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. 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.
The country’s Ministry of Health argues that the campaign will keep the spread of diseases like diabetes and strokes in check. The ministry also says that curbing widening waistlines will rein in a rapidly aging society’s ballooning health care costs, one of the most serious and politically delicate problems facing Japan today."
You can read the entire story by clicking here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/world/asia/13fat.html?no_interstitial I guess they're going to have to make an exception for our friends the SUMO wrestlers. No 33 inch waists there, for sure. The photo credit is http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/Japan/photo283548.htm
