Corporate Japan will join the country's battle against bulging waistlines next month with the introduction of compulsory "flab checks" for the over-40s and penalties for firms that fail to bring their employees' weight under control.
Health authorities hope the measures will arrest the rise in obesity among middle-aged men and slow soaring medical costs. All employees over 40 - about 56 million people - will be required to take the test to determine whether they are at risk of metabolic syndrome - symptoms associated with being overweight that, if left unchecked, increase the risk of strokes, heart disease and diabetes. Men with girths of more than 85cm will be given exercise and diet plans and, in urgent cases, told to see a doctor.
The health ministry estimates that 13 million Japanese suffer from metabolic syndrome, while another 14 million are at risk. Men are about 10 percent fatter than they were a decade ago, while women are more than six percent heavier. The ministry hopes to see a 25 percent reduction in the number of people at risk over three years.
PHOTO: AP
According to reports, firms will be required to cut the number of overweight workers and their dependents by 10 percent by 2012. Those that fail to reach the targets face surcharges of up to 10 percent on contributions to a welfare fund for the elderly.
"If it can prevent even a small number of people from developing cardiovascular diseases it will be good news for them and their families," Yuji Matsuzawa, director of the Japan Society for the Study of Obesity, wrote in the Asahi newspaper.(THE GUARDIAN)
日本企業下個月起,將加入政府對抗腰圍變粗行列,為四十歲以上的人進行強制性「腰圍測量」,未能有效控制員工體重的企業將受到懲罰。
衛生單位希望能透過這些措施,遏止中年男性發福人數上升的趨勢,並減緩高漲的醫藥費用。四十歲以上的員工(約有五千六百萬人)都必須接受檢查,檢驗自己是否為代謝症候群的高危險群;代謝症候群的症狀多和體重過重相關,若不加以防範,會導致中風、心臟疾病和糖尿病的機率增加。他們將針對腰圍超過八十五公分的男性,提出運動和節食計畫,並建議情況較嚴重者去看醫生。
日本厚生勞動省估計,日本約有一千三百萬人是代謝症候群患者,另外一千四百萬人則屬於高危險群;和十年前相比,日本男性的體重約增加一成,女性體重則高出百分之六。厚生勞動省希望在三年內降低二成五的高風險人數。
報導指出,企業必須在二O一二年前將體重過重的員工和其眷屬人數減少一成;未達此目標者,必須額外負擔高達一成的老年福利基金。
日本肥胖學會會長松澤佑次在發表於《朝日新聞》的文章中寫道:「就算這項政策只能有效防止少數民眾罹患心血管疾病,那對他們和他們的家庭來說也將是美事一樁。」(衛報�翻譯:袁星塵)
Rice is an essential ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine. Many foods are made of rice, adding more variety to our cooking, such as rice cake, or “gui.” Wagui is made by steaming rice flour batter in a bowl. The term “gui” refers to a type of food made from rice, while “wa” refers to a bowl. The pronunciation of “gui” in Taiwanese Hokkien is similar to the word for “nobility” in Chinese, so it is common for people to prepare various types of gui, including wagui, as offerings to the gods or ancestors,. 米是台灣重要的主食,用米製成的食品十分多元,豐富我們的飲食,如米做成的「粿」。粿的意思是米做成的糕點,碗粿是將在來米漿倒入碗中蒸熟,因而得名。粿因為音同「貴」,因此碗粿等粿食常用作供品祭拜神明和祖先。 nobility (n.) 高貴,高尚;貴族 offering (n.) 供品 While Taiwan may not be
It’s no secret that Japanese people have a deep affection for noodles. Like in the rest of East Asia, noodles are an important staple food, second only to rice. Japanese people have enjoyed noodles for over 1,000 years. The first noodles came from China and were introduced around 800 CE. As time passed, noodles in Japan not only became widespread but also developed some unique Japanese characteristics. The three most popular types of noodles in Japan are ramen, soba, and udon. Ramen, typically made from wheat flour, is usually thin and firm. The dough is kneaded and left to
On Tuesday last week, the flame for this summer’s Paris Olympics was lit at the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games in southern Greece in a meticulously choreographed ceremony. It will then be carried through Greece for more than 5,000km before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens venue used for the first modern Olympics in 1896. The pageantry at Olympia has been an essential part of every Olympics for nearly 90 years since the Games in Berlin. It’s meant to provide an ineluctable link between the modern event and the ancient Greek original on which it was initially modelled. Once
Drive-through (or drive-thru) restaurants provide people with the immense convenience of being able to purchase and pick up meals without needing to leave their vehicles. These restaurants have been around for decades, and their success has spawned a number of equally handy services. The drive-through concept originated with the drive-in restaurant, the first of which was established in the US in 1921. Patrons would order and eat the food that was delivered to their cars by workers called “carhops.” Ten years later, a drive-through service was introduced, but it was not until 1947 that the first exclusively drive-through restaurant opened its