http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/asia_file/blog/2009/03/30/singapore_urges_obese_workers_to_trim_the_fat
Singapore urges obese workers to trim the fat
The relationship between state and society in Singapore is governed by micromanagement, with many people looking to government for advice on how to live their lives and ministers regularly telling people what to do.
In that very spirit, the health minister, Khaw Boon Wan, has urged overweight Singaporeans to get fit if they want to improve their job prospects in these tough times.
"If you are a little bit overweight, please think about slimming down," he was quoted as saying by the Straits Times. "Honestly, if you are obese and have a poor work attitude, and I'm an employer and I have so many people applying for jobs, you think I will pick you unless you have some special skills that nobody has?"
I can't decide if he's right to warn the horizontally-challenged of the likely employment obstacles they will face or if he is merely legitimising discrimination against overweight people.
In any case, most of the evidence thus far has pointed to the fact that the recession will lead to waistlines increasing rather than decreasing, as people eat cheaper, less healthy food and cut back on those expensive gym memberships.
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