Thursday, December 14, 2006

Obesity labels for clothes in large sizes?

What about the problem with bureaucratic bloat? I propose special labels on large filing-cabinets, shipments of forms from printing companies, and other products likely to be used by obese bureaucracies. From the (UK) Times:
Clothes made in larger sizes should carry a tag with an obesity helpline number, health specialists have suggested. Sweets and snacks should not be permitted near checkouts, new roads should not be built unless they include cycle lanes and food likely to make people fat should be taxed, they say in a checklist of what we might “reasonably do” to deal with obesity.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, the team says that “pull yourself together, eat less and exercise more” is an inadequate response to obesity, voiced only by “less perceptive health professionals” and the media. What fat people need is help, advice and sympathy to overcome their addiction to food, says the group of public health professional, which includes Sir George Alberti, the Government’s national director for emergency care.

Their checklist of possible actions includes:

# Printing a helpline numbers for advice with all clothes sold with a waist of more than 40in for men and 37in for boys, women’s garments with a waist of more than 35in or size 16 or above, and more than 31in for girls
# Banning the placement of sweets and fatty snacks at or near shop tills and at children’s eye level
# Taxing processed foods that are high in sugar or saturated fat
# Introducing health checks for all school leavers, both primary and secondary
# Allowing new urban roads only if they have cycle lanes
# Establishing a dedicated central agency responsible for all aspects of obesity [...]
Super-sizing government . . . (Hat Tip: Lucianne.com)

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