It started in New York with the banning of certain oils to fry food in. Then in L.A. the ban on fast food franchises from opening up. Now the State of Alabama is getting into the act of telling people what they can and can not eat. What shape they have to be in and how to basically live.

From the Associated Press: (just try and charge me for passing on parts of your story)

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Alabama, pushed to third in national obesity rankings by deep-fried Southern favorites, is cracking down on state workers who are too fat.
The state has given its 37,527 employees a year to start getting fit — or they’ll pay $25 a month for insurance that otherwise is free.

The State Employees’ Insurance Board this week approved a plan to charge state workers starting in January 2010 if they don’t have free health screenings.

No charge for serious issues If the screenings turn up serious problems with blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose or obesity, employees will have a year to see a doctor at no cost, enroll in a wellness program, or take steps on their own to improve their health. If they show progress in a follow-up screening, they won’t be charged. But if they don’t, they must pay starting in January 2011.

“We are trying to get individuals to become more aware of their health,” said state worker Robert Wagstaff, who serves on the insurance board.

Not all state employees see it that way.

“It’s terrible,” said health department employee Chequla Motley. “Some people come into this world big.”

Computer technician Tim Colley already pays $24 a month for being a smoker and doesn’t like the idea of another charge.

“It’s too Big Brotherish,” he said.

The board will apply the obesity charge to anyone with a body mass index of 35 or higher who is not making progress. A person 5 feet 6 inches tall weighing 220 pounds, for example, would have a BMI of 35.5. A BMI of 30 is considered the threshold for obesity.

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