The decree comes ahead of Turkmenistan's closed National Day on September 27.
Actors, singers, and dancers have been told that they must lose weight so they look "presentable" at the celebration – otherwise, they will no longer have a job, reports Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
In addition to being fired, they will no longer be allowed to appear on stage or on TV, according to the news site.
The order is said to come from the country's hardline former president Gurbanguly Berdymuchamedov. Despite having formally handed over power to his son Serdar Berdymuchamedov, he is still considered to be the one holding the reins.
Based on Berdymuchamedov's instructions, overweight cultural workers were ordered to lose weight, and specifically belly fat, by September 27, says an anonymous actor to RFE/RL.
The very authoritarianly governed Turkmenistan has long been criticized by human rights organizations. Oppression, poverty, and corruption characterize the former Soviet state.
Now Berdymuchamedov even wants to control the size of our stomachs. It was one of the last things the government did not have influence over, says a theater worker in Balkanabat near the Caspian Sea.