Sorry sir / miss we can’t serve you at this restaurant because you are just too damn fat. Please don’t be offended it’s just your friendly local government official trying to do you a solid. Can’t you see we are just trying to help you?

A state lawmaker wants to ban restaurants from serving the obese. Ok, more than 30 percent of adults in Mississippi are considered obese. There’s no doubt that citizens of Mississippi (and other overweight individuals) could use a nudge in the right direction but what’s proposed is far more than a nudge.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found a 61 percent increase in the number of Americans classified as obese between 1991 and 2000. It singled out Mississippi as having the highest rate.

"Any food establishment to which this section applies shall not be allowed to serve food to any person who is obese, based on criteria prescribed by the State Department of Health after consultation with the Mississippi Council on Obesity Prevention and Management," the bill states.

The measure would apply to any restaurant that holds a health department permit and has enclosed seating for five or more – a definition broad enough to cover almost every restaurant in the state, not just those that serve fast food. The bill does not spell out what penalties an eatery would face for violating the law.

Hmmm, how should I sum up this ingenious idea of food police? I’m speechless.

Mark Degen, BS, ACLS, ACSM, ACE, LMT