portly police told to exercise in Indonesia
Overweight police officers in Indonesia have been ordered to exercise twice a week. These officers will be trading in their uniforms for tee shirts and running shoes to help them take off the extra weight.
This program was put into place because of the increased number of obese officers and the belief that the out of shape officers would not be able to properly perform their jobs. The citizens felt as though they were not being completely protected.
These officers will not be fired if they don’t lose any weight, but will not be allowed to skip their fitness sessions.
The program has already enrolled more than 400 overweight officers and it started only a week ago.
They have also hired a medical team to oversee the officers. They will help create nutritional diets for them to follow and continue to make sure that all their health needs are being met. M
any employers all over the world are offering similar programs to their employees, but most are voluntary.
“The fat and paunchy cops can’t expect to catch fleeing criminals,” said Tangerang Police Chief Col. Wahyu Widada speaking to ABC News. “This program is aimed at changing their unhealthy lifestyles.”
This isn’t the first time a police departement was told to cut the fat.
In 2012, Nepalese Police Headquarters in the capital Kathmandu vowed to tackle the problem after complaints from the public that well-padded officers were unable to perform their duties.
“When you are fat, you look lousy and it’s obvious that perception of people towards you is not positive. They don’t trust you,” police spokesman Bigyan Raj Sharma said, adding annual tests would be introduced to monitor progress.
“Officers who fail will be barred from promotion and transferred to less well-paying posts,” Mr Sharma said. “Our job demands that we are alert and physically fit at all times.”
