A couple of weeks ago, i saw a story on the news about women in Osaka Japan. women in Osaka
have begun to rent into homes where the rent is based on how much the women weigh. the more you gain,
the more the rent goes up and the more you lose, the more your rent goes down in price. the landlords, at
first, thought that overweight women would be renting these houses to help motivate their weight loss goals.
but in fact, women with already great bodies have come to maintain their weight. i have posted a link to an
article about it down below. all the article is is information about the living arrangements, but on the news
they were talking about how arrangements like this could cause eating disorders for women who so desperately
either want to lose weight or just keep some extra cash in their pocket due to wanting cheap rent. Personally,
i think that stuff like that could really happen to women who take things as far as to starve themselves just to
save a couple of bucks, but i also think it is helpful to women who have trouble keeping the motivation to
lose weight. the main problem here is that this living arrangement says something about women like "Women
in this community have to be skinny in order to fit in" just like here in America where we have magazines and
other sources of media depicting skinny, makeup bathed women teaching other women how they "should"
look like, dress like, and even act like. what do you guys think?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2381269/Lose-weight-pay-rent-Japan-Osaka-female-apartment-Lady-Share-House-B-D-charges-rent-losing-weight.html
This is soooo messed up!
ReplyDeleteFrom the article:
"When it comes to incentivising weight loss and encouraging a healthy population, one apartment building in Asia thinks it has the answer."
Then where are the all-male living blocks?
And even if they did have them for men, I do not think this is the best way to promote a "healthy population"...Where is the line drawn? Is there a minimum weight/rent amount, or will the women just keep losing until they waste away and are paying progressively less and less. And as far as overweight nations go, isn't China one of the most healthy/least obese? I just checked Wikipedia, China has less than 5% obesity overall, as compared to the United States that has 35.7% obesity.
I would be interested in seeing how these women who live here change their lifestyles, money isn't necessarily a motivating factor for lasting lifestyle changes. Japan has the lowest obesity rate in the developed world and their diets are highly diversified with lower calorie foods and smaller portions already, I wonder if this is really an incentive to keep the obesity rates down or if it's a publicity thing for the building to have this option, making it seem like their building is for beautiful and thin women?
ReplyDeleteI have to agree Claudia, it's not the most effective way to promote a healthy population, and where is this option for men? Is it okay to be obese as long as you're a man?
Oh wow, I'm so embarrassed. Japan, not China. gah
ReplyDeleteOh my, I can not believe that they did this! Sure, I am all for encouraging men and women to be healthy but I don't think it should be done in a way like this. Like you said, Chelsea, things like this could easily bring on more eating disorders, which is not what we want to promote. I get where they are trying to go with this, but they are doing it in the wrong way. Instead of making people pay more or less rent depending on the amount they weigh, they could instead create a gym and incorporate exercise and healthy eating classes. Then, I think they could cut back on their rent a certain amount if they attend; but I would not suggest punishing those who do not. I do not think punishment would lead to good outcomes in this case. This way they would be promoting healthy habits for women to engage in rather than dangerous, unhealthy ones.
ReplyDeleteThat is beyond crazy. Who would have thought that weight would factor into how much you pay in rent. Not only does that cause physical stress because you are trying to keep you weight down for lower rent but also mental stress. This causes mental stress because it puts this notion in women head that they have to be skinny in order to fit well in society , causing more stress and strain. This story has blown my mind.
ReplyDeleteI think this is absolutely ridiculous! There is already so much pressure in many societies for women to be stick-thin and beautiful at all times, and this does not help matters at all. I think this is sickening that not only is it aimed solely towards women, but it also perpetuates the idea that one's beauty and worth in society directly correlates with one's weight.
ReplyDeleteit isn't a healthy life style at all. i agree completely. and men should have the same option. why should men get to be fat? haha.
ReplyDeleteit isn't a healthy life style at all. i agree completely. and men should have the same option. why should men get to be fat? haha.
ReplyDeleteit isn't a healthy life style at all. i agree completely. and men should have the same option. why should men get to be fat? haha.
ReplyDelete