One Size Does NOT Fit All

Health and Wellness are the new buzz words. I don’t mind saying that I gag every time I hear these words, they’ve been used so much.

While I have nothing against being healthy and well, what I have a problem with is this new idea that everyone should fit into the same size of health and wellness. As each of us is individual and unique unto ourselves, I find it disturbing that health and wellness is judged based on weight and lifestyle choices.

Not every overweight person is unhealthy, and not every slim person is healthy. It’s funny that there was no “obesity epidemic” until they lowered the BMI (body mass index) and suddenly overnight 30 million Americans were overweight when just the day before their weight was just fine. BMI is measured by height and weight and the new guidelines made Tom Cruise overweight, even though he has more muscle. Using BMI to measure the “health and wellness” of anyone is not sensible at all.

More and more companies these days are instituting “wellness programs” in the workplace. These programs are of course voluntary, but they also tend to offer incentives, or rewards if you will, for those who do participate and meet the pre-set goals of the program. These goals are not just weight, but lifestyle habits, blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol levels and more. If you participate you will be evaluated and given the numbers in these areas you are to meet within a certain time frame.

It all sounds good, but do we really want our employers now dictating our life outside of the workplace? I know I don’t.

In Japan, they have a mandatory program (Metabo) that all employers have to get all their employees over the age of 40 to be a certain size. They have to actually measure the employees’ waists and those who are over the mandated waist size of 33.5 inches for men and 35.5 inches for women are referred to counseling and monitoring. The employers are also to keep their staff slim or pay more into the national health insurance program.

I can see this happening here. I don’t know about you, but this is not my idea of living free, or healthy for that matter. Can you imagine having a large bone structure and the smallest waistline you can manage is 36 inches?

We are all built differently and one size never fits all, and it never will, contrary to what some people may think.