No fat people allowed: Only the slim will be allowed to dine in public!

jaded · #1 (**permalink**) 02-02-2008, 11:13 AM

Quote:

It has actually happened. Lawmakers have proposed legislation that forbids restaurants and food establishments from serving food to anyone who is obese (as defined by the State). Under this bill, food establishments are to be monitored for compliance under the State Department of Health and violators will have their business permits revoked.

House Bill 282 was introduced in the 2008 Mississippi legislative session on Friday by Representative W.T. Mayhall, Jr., a retired pharmaceutical salesman with DuPont-Merk. Its co-authors are Bobby Shows, a businessman, and John Read, a pharmacist.

The full text reads:

HOUSE BILL NO. 282

An act to prohibit certain food establishments from serving food to any person who is obese, based on criteria prescribed by the state department of health; to direct the department to prepare written materials that describe and explain the criteria for determining whether a person is obese and to provide those materials to the food establishments; to direct the department to monitor the food establishments for compliance with the provisions of this act; and for related purposes. Be it enacted by the legislature of the state of Mississippi:

SECTION 1.

(1) The provisions of this section shall apply to any food establishment that is required to obtain a permit from the State Department of Health under Section 41-3-15(4)(f), that operates primarily in an enclosed facility and that has five (5) or more seats for customers.

(2) Any food establishment to which this section applies shall not be allowed to serve food to any person who is obese, based on criteria prescribed by the State Department of Health after consultation with the Mississippi Council on Obesity Prevention and Management established under Section 41-101-1 or its successor. The State Department of Health shall prepare written materials that describe and explain the criteria for determining whether a person is obese, and shall provide those materials to all food establishments to which this section applies. A food establishment shall be entitled to rely on the criteria for obesity in those written materials when determining whether or not it is allowed to serve food to any person.

(3) The State Department of Health shall monitor the food establishments to which this section applies for compliance with the provisions of this section, and may revoke the permit of any food establishment that repeatedly violates the provisions of this section.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2008.

Should this pass, scales will appear at the door of restaurants, people with BMIs of 30 or higher won’t be allowed to be served. And to comply with government regulations, restaurants will have to keep records of patrons' BMIs.

Is this a tongue-in-cheek bill, meant to point out how absurd the war on obesity has become? Or do lawmakers actually believe the myths that gluttony is the cause for obesity and that it is the government’s role to force people to eat and live how it deems best?

I called lead author, Rep. Mayhall, and asked if this was serious legislation or tongue-in-cheek to make a point. He kindly took a moment to answer my question while the legislature was in session. He said that while, regrettably, he doesn’t believe his bill will pass, this is serious. He wrote it, he said, because of the “urgency of the obesity crisis and need for government action.” He hopes it will “call attention to the serious problem of obesity and what it is costing the Medicare system.”

Junkfood Science: No fat people allowed: Only the slim will be allowed to dine in public!

jaded · #2 (**permalink**) 02-02-2008, 11:15 AM

wow. I just don't know what else to say about that. Just wow.

allinaugust · #3 (**permalink**) 02-02-2008, 12:01 PM

Wow, that's a new one to me. Hadn't heard of this before. I did see a news article on TV a few weeks ago about a buffet restaurant that refused to serve a customer because they were eating too much at the buffet (I don't think they were obese, just eating too much food).

Hmmm, very interesting. While I agree something needs to be about the obesity problem in our country, I don't know if this is the way to go about. If you think about it, tho, people's bad habits and health really have an impact much further than just on themselves. Obese people have higher risks of heart disease and other related health problems....this would send them to the doctor more. Imagine if they have no health insurance or gov't funded insurance??? Should we be paying for their bad habits and choices??? Rhetorical question just to get you thinking.

I'm not for the gov't dictating our lives to us, I think this choice should be left up to the individual establishments.

genichols · #4 (**permalink**) 02-02-2008, 01:32 PM

Uhhhhh........if this went in effect, more than half the customers would be turned away at restaurant doors. Can you even begin to imagine the impact this would have on the economy??

This is just crazy.

lisacb · #5 (**permalink**) 02-02-2008, 03:46 PM

I'm kind of confused - it says "Certain Food Establishments". Which ones and how would they decide?

So an obese person can't go into a restaraunt and order a salad or a grilled piece of meat? Even McDonalds serves salads and grilled chicken sandwiches. But they can go home and eat a box of Twinkies and a 2 liter bottle of pop.

I get the point it's trying to make, but I don't think there's any way this could even begin to become a real law.

And to keep track of patrons BMIs? So every restaruant would have every person's BMI on file who has ever ate there? And they'd have to keep it updated - what if you gained a lot of weight or lost a lot? They're actually going to measure and weigh you before you can eat? Or take your word for it. What if you're pregnant or a body builder? In both cases the BMI would be off.

I don't see how it could ever work.

Lisa

ItsJustMe · #6 (**permalink**) 02-02-2008, 04:20 PM

Quote:

I called lead author, Rep. Mayhall, and asked if this was serious legislation or tongue-in-cheek to make a point. He kindly took a moment to answer my question while the legislature was in session. He said that while, regrettably, he doesn’t believe his bill will pass, this is serious. He wrote it, he said, because of the “urgency of the obesity crisis and need for government action.” He hopes it will “call attention to the serious problem of obesity and what it is costing the Medicare system.”

This is an insane idea. Next restaurants will be requiring woman that weigh under a certain to only eat fattening foods, as a "statement against eating disorders". I think this is one persons opinion gone WAY too far.

BeccaRose · #7 (**permalink**) 02-02-2008, 04:52 PM

That is so stupid. Sounds like something The Onion would do as a spoof.

No way will it be approved, no way...

grannyshirl · #8 (**permalink**) 02-02-2008, 07:02 PM

WOW!

Wonder if there is a scales there to weigh people or is judged by how you look?

I did read that some one wanted to have extra TAX on fattening foods.

Chelmo · #9 (**permalink**) 02-02-2008, 08:33 PM

I seriously doubt this will pass.

Mom2RandD · #10 (**permalink**) 02-02-2008, 08:43 PM

I can see it now! A decrease in the obesity epidemic is equally proportioned to an increase in violent crimes!

This is such baloney. What next? Chest x-rays for people who are buying cigarettes? Blood sugar screening at your local Krispy Kreme? Yeah...good luck with that.

cjs216 · #11 (**permalink**) 02-02-2008, 09:22 PM

Seems like it would make more sense to regulate the nutritional value of restaurant and fast food menu items....require that fat/carb/sodium, etc be listed, offer some % of "lite" meals, eliminate menu items that don't meet certain criteria, etc.

cj/

crzy4cpns · #12 (**permalink**) 02-02-2008, 09:34 PM

This is absurd!!!! My guess is the restaurants would have no customers and go out of business. If I wanked in and saw a scale, I would turn around and walk out. I am not going to be embarrassed in front of a bunch of strangers. Also, just because you are overweight does not mean you are NOT healthy. Maybe it's a matter of time, but I do not have hypertension or diabetes and my BMI is over 30. It is just REALLY HARD to lose weight!

got2save2 · #13 (**permalink**) 02-03-2008, 03:52 AM

This sounds like something Mississippi would come up with, Can't eat because you are overweight, However, You can Gamble every penny you are saving from Not being able to eat out in the casino's.

This is jsut too stupid for words. I can see the Headlines in the local papers now. Business Burnt to ground over refusing to server the obese. What if the person is pregnant with twins ?? Guess she would have to give birth at the door.

wildwood · #14 (**permalink**) 02-03-2008, 11:19 AM

Maybe we should pass a law that stupid people can't write laws.

dnj51 · #15 (**permalink**) 02-03-2008, 11:53 AM

OK - this will never ever pass - I'm thinking this congressman is using this as a platform to wake up the people of 'ol Miss to the problem of obesity in their state.

The only restaurants this would help is the all-you-can-eat buffet type. All other restaurants would lobby to kill this proposal.

carolcarolc · #16 (**permalink**) 02-03-2008, 01:49 PM

beccarose i also thought this sounded like something from the Onion!!

annadrose · #17 (**permalink**) 02-03-2008, 05:10 PM

Besides everything that is ridiculous about this: who decides who is too fat to go in? In some places I am considered "normal" in others a big fat pig. I can believe it though because people in this country believe being fat is the WORST thing in the world. People would rather be a junkie or have cancer than be fat. Stupid if you ask me.

ProudUSAMama · #18 (**permalink**) 02-04-2008, 09:34 AM

make the door opening smaller, don't fit in, don't get to eat.

AMulquin · #19 (**permalink**) 02-12-2008, 12:55 PM

Well apparently the lawmaker never expected it would become law anyway

Quote:

"I was trying to shed a little light on the number one problem in Mississippi," said Republican Rep. John Read of Gautier, who acknowledges that at 5-foot-11 and 230 pounds, he'd probably have a tough time under his own bill.

Quote:

The state House Public Health Committee chairman, Democrat Steve Holland of Plantersville, said he is going to "shred" the bill.

Miss. Law Would Ban Serving Obese Diners - RealTime

Looks like this bill is going nowhere.

linnybop · #20 (**permalink**) 02-12-2008, 02:29 PM

I cannot ever see it passing, but what about the ppl having tried to sue McDonald's for MAKING them fat. You eat a big mac-you pay the price. Maybe it's some restaurants way of "getting" back.

cougarskies · #21 (**permalink**) 02-12-2008, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by linnybop

I cannot ever see it passing, but what about the ppl having tried to sue McDonald's for MAKING them fat. You eat a big mac-you pay the price. Maybe it's some restaurants way of "getting" back.

It's a sad fact of life now. Personal responsibility is waning and so many people want to blame everybody and everything else for their own choices. There's always some lawyer ready to sue and try to get a few bucks from someone who did nothing wrong. Some lawyers know they won't win the case but make their living off settlements. Blaming the restaurants for selling food that's fattening is ridiculous. Restaurants aren't the problem. Rep. Read wasted time and money that could have been spent on better things just to get himself some publicity. It doesn't speak well of Mississippi that they elected an idiot like John Read to represent them. I would hope they don't make the same mistake again.

littlejo · #22 (**permalink**) 02-12-2008, 06:29 PM

this is a stupid as the folks that was trying to get it passed that if you lived to be 85 they should put you down. they complained that the old people was living to long and using up the ss. stupid. stupid stupid

MadeintheUSA · #23 (**permalink**) 02-12-2008, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProudUSAMama

make the door opening smaller, don't fit in, don't get to eat.

I love it!!

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