If your fat don’t come to New Zealand

Well thought that the title might catch your eye. But what it really should say is if your too fat you won’t be able to come to NZ. I have read around the internet lately the injustices and prejudice against groups of fat people. I remember from a year ago when I found out that NZ does not actually let in people who have a BMI that is too large. So I searched the internet and found an interesting story.

A british citizen who is a submarine cable specialist tried to immigrate to NZ after been headhunted by telecom, which is the major telecommunications network here. However, he was told by the NZ government that he was too fat, his BMI was too high, and so he would need to trim down before coming here. He finally did and came only for his wife to be told the same thing…..cant come, too fat, lose weight. She struggled to get her weight down and so was unable to immigrate (I cannot find if she finally made it).

While the New Zealand Immigration Service could not say how many people had been refused entry on similar grounds, the Emigrate New Zealand website revealed that many people had been banned for being obese. The argument is that people who are too heavy will end up costing the tax payer too much money in the long run and so are banned essentially. 

This seems ludicrous on two accounts. Studies on longevity and BMI show no differences between normal weight and obese people. Secondly, he would be in a highly paid job and so would almost definitely have ended up paying for himself in the long run by paying such high taxes. Even if that was true couldn’t they have made him pay medical insurance? Also they forced him on to a crash course of dieting, which probably is very unhealthy. 

Sorry a year too late but still worthy of note I feel.