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Compulsory flab checks in Japan 日本推行強制腰圍管理

Businessmen watch a stock price indicator in Tokyo, Monday, March 3, 2008. 三月三日星期一，生意人在東京觀看股市行情表。 照片：美聯社 PHOTO: AP

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.

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）

TODAY'S WORDS今日單字 1. flab n. 贅肉 (zhui4 rou4) 例: I'm going to the gym to try and get rid of my flab. (我要去健身房運動，想辦法甩掉我的贅肉。) 2. arrest v.t. 制止 (zhi4 zhi3) 例: We must arrest the growth of the tumor. (我們必須阻止這個腫瘤增大。) 3. metabolic adj. 新陳代謝的 (xin1 chen2 dai4 xie4 de5) 例: Some people have a high metabolic rate. (有些人新陳代謝的速度很快。) 4. surcharge n. 額外費 (e2 wai4 fei4) 例: There is a surcharge for using this ATM. (使用這台自動櫃員機須負擔額外費用。)

SAY WHAT?說說看 girth 腰圍 Girth is another word for waist. It refers to the circumference of an object. For example: " What is the girth of the tree?" There are many polite ways to refer to people who are overweight in English. An overweight man may be described as portly or stout. An overweight man or woman might be described as plump. An overweight child is often referred to as being chubby or pudgy. To directly state that someone is fat in English is considered very rude. 「girth」是「waist」的同義字，指的是一個物體的周長，例如：「這棵樹的樹圍是多少？」 英文中有很多委婉形容體重過重者的詞彙，例如用「portly」或「stout」形容過重的男性，「plump」形容過重的男性或女性，過重的小孩則常用「chubby」或「pudgy」來形容；直接用「fat」來形容某人過胖是相當不禮貌的。

OUT LOUD對話練習 Yasmin: Have you heard about those flab checks going on in Japan? Sophie: Yeah. I'm not too sure about that myself. Yasmin: Really? How come? Sophie: It strikes me as being a bit too much like a nanny state. Yasmin: I suppose so. Sophie: I mean, people really ought to be able to take responsibility for their own health. 亞斯名：你有聽說日本實施的「腰圍測量」措施嗎？ 蘇菲：有，但是我個人不太肯定此點。 亞斯名：真的嗎？為什麼？ 蘇菲：我覺得日本政府未免也管太多了吧。 亞斯名：我也這麼認為。 蘇菲：我是說，人民應該可以對自己的健康負責任吧。 nanny state　管太多的政府 Nanny state refers to a government which over-legislates so that it seems to be treating the public like small children in the government's care. 「nanny state」指的是好像把人民當小孩來管、過度立法管制的政府。

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