sorry, you're too fat to live here...

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myofibril
myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
in Chit-Chat
Obese chef weighing 20 stone six pounds who is being kicked out of New Zealand for being too fat

Albert Buitenhuis was told he was too heavy to stay in New Zealand
Weighs 20 stone six pounds, five stone less than when he moved there
He and wife Marthie are facing deportation from their Christchurch home
Albert is five feet ten inches tall and has a Body Mass Index of 40


link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2380021/Albert-Buitenhuis-New-Zealand-kicks-obese-man-country-290lbs-heavy.html

It seems one of the main reasons he may have to leave NZ is the potential social and health costs be poses in the future.

Is this fair? He weighs a little under 300lbs...
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Replies

  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
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    No. It isn't fair.
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
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    I wonder if smokers, extreme sport athletes, or even anyone with a whiff of a mental illness will be next...
  • MyJourney1960
    MyJourney1960 Posts: 1,133 Member
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    apparently it's the law there. I can understand that a country would want to screen their potential immigrants for medical problems - because if someone's medical problems become more difficult, it does fall on 'the country' to deal

    and let's face it - i don't know the laws in NZ, but every country has their concept of who they allow to immigrate and who they don't - for whatever reasons (money, potential income, mental health, criminals...)
  • alglenn2013
    alglenn2013 Posts: 97 Member
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    This article really irritated me this morning. This guy has made actual progress towards improving his health, and all they can see is how much he weighs.
  • Raynne413
    Raynne413 Posts: 1,527 Member
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    Wow! That's crazy. I wonder if it would be different if they were citizens but not there under a visa? Not that it is right, either way, but I'm curious.
  • jamk1446
    jamk1446 Posts: 5,577 Member
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    I wonder if smokers, extreme sport athletes, or even anyone with a whiff of a mental illness will be next...

    A fair question. What's the difference between the health risks associated with obesity vs. health risks of smoking? Why target just this one group?
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
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    apparently it's the law there. I can understand that a country would want to screen their potential immigrants for medical problems - because if someone's medical problems become more difficult, it does fall on 'the country' to deal

    The thing is he has been there for 6 years and is 60lbs lighter than when he was first let in.

    Seems a bit harsh to kick out a productive member of society over problems he may (or very well may not have in fact) in the future.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    NZ has a right to deny citizenship and visas to whomever it chooses.

    What's interesting is that the US would be all over the news and being flamed over something like this. We're not allowed to deny anyone for any reason ever without major backlash.

    Where are the memes about how much fat people contribute to the NZ society???
  • Laces_0ut
    Laces_0ut Posts: 3,750 Member
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    their country. their rules. iif they had just passed the law this year and kicked him out without warning that would be unfair.


    and he's been there 6 years and only lost 60 pounds? seems to me they were giving him a chance and have finally said enough is enough.
  • highervibes
    highervibes Posts: 2,219 Member
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    Wow.
  • dirty_dirty_eater
    dirty_dirty_eater Posts: 574 Member
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    Perhaps they're afraid he'll sink their little island?
  • Hexahedra
    Hexahedra Posts: 894 Member
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    The article mentions that NZ is the country with the third highest rate of obesity in the world, so I can somewhat understand their requirement for immigrants to have less than 35 BMI especially since they have universal healthcare. Every country has its own health requirement for immigrants, the U.S. included. By law you can't immigrate to USA if you have tuberculosis, among other things.

    Albert had 6 years to study the regulation and improve his condition. He's currently 286 lbs and he needs to be 244 to meet the requirement. I have seen many people here on MFP losing 42 lbs in just a year.

    Yeah, yeah, I can see people flocking here saying "but being fat is not necessarily unhealthy" and all that. It's true that not every obese person is unhealthy, just like not every teenager drives irresponsibly, but on average obese people have higher health risk just like teenage drivers have higher auto accident rate.
  • depuydt2011
    depuydt2011 Posts: 46 Member
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    Perhaps they're afraid he'll sink their little island?

    hahaha :happy:
  • Fozzi43
    Fozzi43 Posts: 2,984 Member
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    Let him come to Great Britain....we let every fvcker in here......
  • kerricolby
    kerricolby Posts: 232 Member
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    They made Peter Jackson lose weight.
  • Velum_cado
    Velum_cado Posts: 1,608 Member
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    Let him come to Great Britain....we let every fvcker in here......

    Yeah, if Britain didn't let fatties in, I would never have got in! ;)
  • mbucchieri
    mbucchieri Posts: 44 Member
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    New Zealands answer to soaring health costs??? Were going to be in a whole heaping **** pile of trouble if America enacts any laws like that!!! lol
  • highervibes
    highervibes Posts: 2,219 Member
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    If he's there on a Visa doesn't he require his own private insurance?
  • JewelsinBigD
    JewelsinBigD Posts: 661 Member
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    What??
  • Capt_Inzane
    Capt_Inzane Posts: 733 Member
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    I grew up larger and lived with a larger family. I wish there were incentives for people to lose weight. I realize that sounds silly but there are some people who are just content on being 350+ lbs their entire lives. It's not my job to make these people eat right and workout but I wonder as a nation what we could accomplish if we were healthier in general.

    Maybe do something like the Japanese did to control the rate of births? I'm not sure what the answer would be.

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