Manila, Philippines - Are cops fit enough to chase criminals? The statistics are not encouraging.
Based on the latest figures provided by the Philippine National Police Health Service, about 52 percent of policemen assigned at the PNP headquarters at Camp Crame are overweight and nine percent are considered obese.
PNP Health Service director Senior Superintendent Angelica Vidal said the statistics prompted the PNP leadership to encourage all policemen nationwide to start living a healthy lifestyle.
“Today’s lifestyle and environmental conditions have made millions of us deficient in various nutrients needed for best health, resulting in risk factors such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity,” Vidal said.
Of the 6,253 policemen assigned at Camp Crame, Vidal said only 2,376 or 37.99 percent have normal weight, while 3,283 or 52 percent are overweight.
Vidal noted there are 588 policemen or 9.4 percent who are obese or grossly overweight while only six or .09 percent are underweight.
She explained the 6,253 policemen in Camp Crame are about 4.31 percent of the total number of 145,000 law enforcers nationwide.
At present, Vidal said the PNP is conducting an eight-week weight loss challenge for all police personnel based at the PNP national headquarters.
Vidal said the weight loss program is part of the PNP’s Health Awareness Campaign and “Pulis Pangkalusugan,” with the participation of Herbalife International.
“One person every 20 seconds suffers heart attack and over 1.5 million people per year undergo heart surgery. Risk factors are high cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, physical inactivity and overweight,” Vidal added.
Initially, 52 policemen including five police officials with the rank of inspector to superintendent joined the weight loss program, Vidal said.
Of the 52 cops, 21 are police non-commissioned officers or those with ranks of police officer 1 (PO1) to senior police officer 4 (SPO4).
She said only seven continued with the program while 45 others backed out due to busy schedules.
Vidal said the weight loss challenge started last May 30 for its first screening and assessment at the HS Auditorium and will go on until July 18 for the final evaluation.
Under the program, the challenger from different locations with the highest percentage of weight loss in eight weeks will win P20,000. - By Cecille Suerte Felipe
