Prisoners of the War on Fat

Kerry Howley | November 20, 2007

At least one British woman can't quite make it past New Zealand's immigrant weigh stations:

A British man who moved to New Zealand has been told by officials that his wife is too fat to join him.

His wife, Rowan, 33, a photographer, has been battling for months to shed the pounds so they can be reunited and live Down Under but has so far been unable to overcome New Zealand’s weight regulations.

Robyn Toomath, a spokesman for Fight the Obesity Epidemic and an endocrinologist, said... she was opposed to obese people being stigmatised. "However, the immigration department’s focus is different," she said. "It cannot afford to import people into the country who are going to be a significant drain on our health resources."

Having lived and dined in Britain, I'm pretty sure the only way for Rowan to lose weight is to contract some sort of infectious disease. 

Elsewhere in Reason: Jacob Sullum on why it's time to lay off the fatties.