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  1. #1
    The Lightbringer
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    Question South African chef 'too fat' to live in New Zealand

    Authorities in New Zealand have told a South African chef he is too fat to be allowed to live in the country.

    Immigration officials said Albert Buitenhuis, who weighs 130kg (286 pounds), did not have "an acceptable standard of health".

    He now faces expulsion despite shedding 30kg since he moved to the city of Christchurch six years ago.

    New Zealand has one of the highest obesity rates in the developed world, with nearly 30% of people overweight.

    Mr Buitenhuis and his wife, Marthie, moved from South Africa to Christchurch in 2007. At the time, the chef weighed 160kg.

    Until now, their annual work visas had been renewed with "very little problem", his wife said.

    "We applied year after year and there were no issues," she said.

    "They never mentioned Albert's weight or his health once and he was a lot heavier then."

    But in early May, the couple was told their work visas had been declined because of Mr Buitenhuis's weight.

    "The irony is that at the moment he weighs less than when we first arrived in New Zealand and also less than in his first medical, which was accepted by [immigration authorities]," his wife said.

    The couple has appealed to New Zealand's immigration minister, citing the chef's recent weight loss.

    An immigration spokesman said Mr Buitenhuis's application had been rejected because his obesity put him at "significant risk" of complications including diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.

    "It is important that all migrants have an acceptable standard of health to minimise costs and demands on New Zealand's health services," he said.
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23475583

    Just something I read today which I thought was quite interesting and would like to see everyone's opinion on this matter.

  2. #2
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    I applaud them, he would be a burden on a foreign healthcare system through a fault of his own. He should drop that weight then try again, as a chef he should know the basics of nutrition.

    Edit: I laughed my tits off when I saw he was called albert.


  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by RICH8472 View Post
    I applaud them, he would be a burden on a foreign healthcare system through a fault of his own. He should drop that weight then try again, as a chef he should know the basics of nutrition.
    That's what he has been doing though.

  4. #4
    Legendary! TirielWoW's Avatar
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    I'm just going to lay bets that one hand isn't talking to the other, as it were. It's not that uncommon in a bureaucracy for things to get completely mixed up.
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  5. #5
    Who cares if he's overweight if his food is good then it's his problem. Are they going to kick black people out of the country because they are more inclined to get sickle cell anemia?

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Raidbozz View Post
    Who cares if he's overweight if his food is good then it's his problem. Are they going to kick black people out of the country because they are more inclined to get sickle cell anemia?
    I think they mean avoidable health issues Mr Slippery Slope.

  7. #7
    Multiple possible reasons for that.

    Maybe their policies regarding that are now enforced more strictly, due to some changes at the top, maybe the person who was handling his visa's renewal was different from the ones he's previously encountered, maybe they just didn't get along and that guy turned out to be a spiteful dude. Really, I don't see how this became news at all.

  8. #8
    funny how this is coming from new zealand - one of the few places where people seemed even fatter than they were in the american south.

    pretty ridiculous how they want to give him the boot when he's already lost 30kg.

  9. #9
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    This is easily one of the dumbest thing I've read this week, and I said this phrase daily. You know you could just deny him the healthcare, whatever the purpose of that healthcare is anyway.

  10. #10
    Merely a Setback PACOX's Avatar
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    I love the "burden to the healthcare system" argument.

    "Hey, lets deny people who need healthcare healthcare!"

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by pacox View Post
    I love the "burden to the healthcare system" argument.

    "Hey, lets deny people who need healthcare healthcare!"
    If his condition is self inflicted, why not?

  12. #12
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    Thing is he was allowed his visa or permit or w/e when he was 30kg heavier than he is now. He's clearly trying and succeeding to lose weight, so why kick him out now? : /

  13. #13
    Herald of the Titans Theodon's Avatar
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    If they are using BMI to judge whether a person is obese then they are doing it all wrong, in my opinion. The person who invented the BMI scale didn't even introduce it as a measure for obesity, and he acknowledged that it didn't take in to account any other influences, such as muscle mass in conjunction with fatty mass.

    BMI can't be used to call someone obese because the science behind it is just basic math. It was introduced in the 1800s and hasn't really changed at all up to today. You'll find some people who are super-fit to be clinically obese if you use the BMI scale to measure their bodymass.

    In developing his index, Quetelet had no interest in obesity. His concern was defining the characteristics of ‘normal man’ and fitting the distribution around the norm. source
    It's always been Wankershim!
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  14. #14
    Herald of the Titans Lemons's Avatar
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    All I can say is I better not gain another 60 pounds or they won't let me live in New Zealand!
    Last edited by Lemons; 2013-07-27 at 07:08 PM.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by RICH8472 View Post
    If his condition is self inflicted, why not?
    Do they also deny healthcare to smokers? I hope so.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Theodon View Post
    If they are using BMI to judge whether a person is obese then they are doing it all wrong, in my opinion. The person who invented the BMI scale didn't even introduce it as a measure for obesity, and he acknowledged that it didn't take in to account any other influences, such as muscle mass in conjunction with fatty mass. BMI can't be used to call someone obese because the science behind it is just basic math. It was introduced in the 1800s and hasn't really changed at all up to today.
    Agreed, BMI is bullshit, myself and many people I work with are borderline obese according to that dumb system, thats far from the truth.

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  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ulgrim View Post
    Imagine if they adopted that policy here in the states.
    Law: Death punishment for obesity.

  19. #19
    Merely a Setback PACOX's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RICH8472 View Post
    If his condition is self inflicted, why not?
    I would say most things that require medical attention are due to ones own actions.

    So why not apply that to everything. Anytime you need healthcare because of your own behavior you're denied.

    Broke a bone due to your own actions/mistake? Denied healthcare

    Smoke/drink? Denied healthcare

    Sick because you didn't wash your hands, spent too much time around other sick people? Denied healthcare

    Got pregnant? Denied healthcare

    HIV/AIDS treatment? Denied healthcare

    etc, etc, etc.

    Ironically universal healthcare was meant to stop private companies from denying healthcare due to everything I listed.

  20. #20
    The Unstoppable Force Elim Garak's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RICH8472 View Post
    If his condition is self inflicted, why not?
    Every condition is self-inflicted apart from genetic ones (these are parents-inflicted - and too should not be covered by healthcare).
    All right, gentleperchildren, let's review. The year is 2024 - that's two-zero-two-four, as in the 21st Century's perfect vision - and I am sorry to say the world has become a pussy-whipped, Brady Bunch version of itself, run by a bunch of still-masked clots ridden infertile senile sissies who want the Last Ukrainian to die so they can get on with the War on China, with some middle-eastern genocide on the side

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