Wellington - A British nurse weighing 134 kilograms has been refused permission to live in New Zealand because she is too fat, according to news reports on Thursday.

The 51-year-old nurse, who had been offered a job in a hospital for the elderly, was turned down by immigration officials because her body mass index of 55.2 made her morbidly obese.

Medical assessors said the woman would probably cost the country 25,000 New Zealand dollars (11,200 US dollars) over four years in health treatment.

The woman, who has a 131-centimetre waist, said she was physically fit, had no history of cancer or chronic disease in her family, and her weight did not stop her working more than 60 hours a week.

She failed in an appeal against the immigration service's decision.

A Ministry of Health survey in 2007 found that 36 per cent of New Zealand adults were overweight and one in four was classified as obese. (dpa)