Mississippi law says: Obese should eat at home!

[LyLMyssChaos]

Mississippi House Bill 282 (http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2008/pdf/history/HB/HB0282.xml)which was introduced this month, says: 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.


I am in complete shock over this! I can't imagine how it can pass, but then again? I suppose anything is possible anymore. Wouldn't this be a law that supports outright discrimination? It would be one thing if a personal business had this policy (no matter how stupid it would be) but for the government to impose such a policy is just totally off base IMO.

[Chelsea524]

Wow, that does sound like discrimination to me. Even if they are obese they still do need to eat. That would be like not letting an anorexic person leave without finishing their meal.

[LyLMyssChaos]

Wow, that does sound like discrimination to me. Even if they are obese they still do need to eat. That would be like not letting an anorexic person leave without finishing their meal.

I know. I mean, are those that are obese for reasons out of their control (medications, genetics, etc.) have to carry a medical waiver that says "it's okay, I'm actually quite healthy, you can serve me!" :rolleyes:

[coquelicot]

And what if the obese person orders something healthy as part of a change in their lifestyle to drop the weight, such as a salad? They have to eat something; they can't starve the weight off. Well, they could, but it wouldn't be healthy.

[camberne]

This is just disgusting. I had surgery to get my weight under control, and I'm happy that I have my health back and I'm able to maintain a healthy weight because of that. However, things like this just serve to increase the amount of discrimination that is already running rampant against morbidly obese folks. And this bill doesn't even say "morbidly obese", just "obese". You would be shocked to find out who would fit into the "obese" category according to NIH (National Institute of Health) standards.

I hope this bill gets defeated and shoved up someone's nether regions!!

[Columbo]

Geesh! Why don't they require restaurants to offer more healthy options?

Restaurant owners will not like this at all!!:mad:

[Niobe]

Geesh! Why don't they require restaurants to offer more healthy options?

Yeah, I like the logic - eat out all you want, until you become obese. Then we're cutting you off! Seems like preventing obesity would be more effective then punishing it. Like maybe by banning the fast food restaurants that help create obesity in the first place.

[DallasLady]

I can't even imagine how this will pass, much less how it could ever be inforced. Will you have to step on a scale before ordering a meal? Will they use calipers to see how much fat they can pinch?

[tenofcups]

Besides being discriminatory and ridiculous to enforce, what on earth is the point of it?! No matter what someone's weight is, they have to eat. Why does it matter whether it's at home or at a restaurant? The stupidity of some people is truly astounding.

[blueskygirl]

I'm really surprised anyone is taking this seriously. It's not serious, it's meant to shock you...likely drafted in response to proposed legislation that requires restaurants to stop using trans-fats, to post nutritional content, to post "warnings" on food that is high in calories or fat, etc. Look behind this bill and you'll find a few lobbyists for the restaurant industry. Bills like these pop up in response to other legislation all the time (like when a bill was introduced here in KY to fund the Ohio River Navy, which would seek out and destroy casino boats drifting south from IN) to call attention to a particular issue or cause.

[isign]

Nice, thanks State!! I work in a deli - we'd be out of business if something like this went through. How ridiculous!

[laura]

I'm really surprised anyone is taking this seriously. It's not serious, it's meant to shock you...likely drafted in response to proposed legislation that requires restaurants to stop using trans-fats, to post nutritional content, to post "warnings" on food that is high in calories or fat, etc. Look behind this bill and you'll find a few lobbyists for the restaurant industry. Bills like these pop up in response to other legislation all the time (like when a bill was introduced here in KY to fund the Ohio River Navy, which would seek out and destroy casino boats drifting south from IN) to call attention to a particular issue or cause.

What a colossal waste of time and money!

[TwnklToes80]

What a colossal waste of time and money!

it's politics, you're surprised?

[Irish Elf]

It was created to start a debate on obesity. The drafter has admitted it doesn't have a chance of getting passed. But even if it was serious, how would you reinforce it? Step on teh scale and be compared to the weight charts? BMI numbers?

I'm all for being healthy but let's offer incentives, not penalties and go from there.

[isign]

Here's some interesting things about this area - we have no parks. There are a few, but it's a 30 - 45 min drive to one from here, an area that's becoming quickly populated. We have only a few gyms, they are small, nothing fancy. There is one major gym that is sponsored by the state, which is really nice,but is again 30 min from here, out of the way. We have a YMCA - 45 min away. We don't have sidewalks, so walking anywhere isn't an option. Yeah, we're southern, and we eat a lot of fried foods, but there really aren't any good 'healthy' places here to eat, just places that have salads. Let's push ways to help people instead of ways to discriminate and hurt them.

[Phen]

As of two or so years ago, Mississippi ranked first in the U.S. of obese residents. Saw a thing on CNN saying that over 30% of Mississippians are obese. I'm of the mind that this is to shock the state into action and help people more than trying to discriminate against anyone.

We have six gyms (one on campus) and two parks in our town in North Mississippi, but we also are a college town. We also have our fair share of places that serve fried pickles, catfish, etc.

[QueenDillyDally]

Whether it is for "shock" value or not, it is still a complete waste of resources... TIME and MONEY that they could be using to prevent obesity in the first place. Absolutely stupid to waste money formulating a bill that will never pass.

[isign]

We ranked #1 this year, Oprah did a big show on it.

[BTB]

Is it a terrible waste of money? People are talking about it, after all... so it seems the legislation served its purpose.

[laura]

Yes, it is a terrible waste of money, even if people are talking about it. Publishing a magazine/newspaper article could get people talking, too, and be a hell of a lot cheaper.

[isign]

I don't know how many people are talking about it. If it weren't for CC I wouldn't have known about it, and no one that I've talked to about it had even heard of it. To the best of my knowledge, it hasn't received much publicity here.