LOS ANGELES — The overweight citizen has been taking a pounding of late. But it may be that the issue is being blown out of all proportion. For starters, both Japan and the United States have been in the news on the issue of citizens who are pulling too much of their own weight around town.

Japan now actually mandates official waistline measurements for citizens between the ages of 40 and 74. If the citizen measures more than the national guidelines (85 cm for males, and 90 cm for females), he or she is subjected to strict diet guidance and, if that doesn't produce the desired cutback, is forced to endure required diet and nutritional re-education. The annual measurements are administered by local governments and companies in conformance with recently enacted legislation.

In the U.S., by contrast, the government is not as directly involved — so far, at least. Various agencies do issue guidelines, produce a few public service announcements and push their boring little health pamphlets around that no one reads besides high school health teachers. That's about it.