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Japanese companies are now looking to trim the fat from their bottom line.  

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Well, make that trim their employee's fat bottoms.  

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Now Kyung Lah looks at how a rise in obesity in Japan has the government there and employers looking for new ways to get workers back into shape.

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One by one, belly by belly, the guts came out and got measured.  

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Naoki Wada is not looking forward to this.

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At 93 centimeters, he's overweight, according to the Japanese government, and that just won't do under new national guidelines.  

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And if he doesn't lose weight, his company faces massive fines and increased government health premiums.

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"This goal is really tough," says NEC's human relations manager. "It's a challenge."

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Companies and local governments must now measure the waistlines of all employees and family members over the age of 40.  

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Men over 85 centimeters and women over 90 centimeters are considered overweight.  

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Now, if you're thinking that's not fat, well, this is a nation that's not so big, but one that is getting bigger.

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This is what the traditional Japanese meal looks like: some vegetables, miso soup and some fish.  

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Total calorie count, about 600.

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But along came American fast food.  

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This is a Big Mac, large fry and Coke.  

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Total calorie count, 1,300, more than twice the Japanese meal.

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You won't find American food in this cafeteria.  

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NEC, facing $19 million in penalties if its employees don't slim down, is encouraging a low-calorie, healthy diet.

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Physical test tomorrow.

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It's why he's chosen today's healthy meal -- hopeful, but not expecting it'll help tomorrow.

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So, are you scared?

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"Yeah, a little bit," he says.

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Hoping to get employees moving, the company pumps out exercise music over the loudspeaker twice a day.  

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It's encouraging employees to take the stairs and exercise at every other floor.

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Can you imagine the U.S. government telling people, we want you to go down to a waist size 33?

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It's difficult to imagine.

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American NEC employee Joseph Jasper says, sure, this seems a little extreme, 

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but maybe there's a lesson here for his home country.

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There's... there are things we can all learn from each other, and this happens to be something that is, you know, good for your health.

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NEC says they can't force employees to slim down, 

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but is has issued Naoki Wada a pedometer, hoping he'll walk in next time with a lighter load.