Fat UK cops handed tips to lose weight
POLICE officers have been told to get in shape by tobogganing, having snowball fights and moving furniture around.
Overweight and unfit officers are also being advised to wash windows, walk the kids to school or jump on a trampoline. The advice comes from Scotland Yard’s new health guru Sean Burgess, in an attempt to help police pass their upcoming fitness tests.
In 2012, a survey of Metropolitan Police officers and staff revealed that 64 percent were overweight or obese. Mandatory fitness tests, known as “bleep tests”, were then introduced across the country.
Some 807 staff in England and Wales – 237 men and 570 women – failed the test in May 2014, four months before passing it became compulsory. Now, anyone who repeatedly fails it faces the sack.
Writing in the Met’s in-house magazine, The Job, Burgess, head of occupational health, began by saying, “Exercise? Who has time for it?”, before suggesting ways for officers to turn their preparation for the test into a regular habit.
“Have snowball fights, build a snowman or do some tobogganing. Household jobs involve moving, stretching, lifting and carrying. Do some cleaning by moving furniture or washing the windows,” he wrote.
Burgess, a former nurse, also suggested officers find activities they can do with their families, such as swimming. “Walk the kids to school, or walk the dog around the local park or countryside, if you can. Have a trampoline in the garden or basketball net.”
Met Commissioner Sir Bernard HoganHowe said last year he thought the bleep tests should be made harder as they were “relatively easy”.
“I think you’ve got a duty to your colleagues (to be fit). If they shout for help, they want fit people to come. They don’t want somebody waddling down the road… and when they get there they’re out of breath.”
Police guidelines say those who fail the test on their first try should be put on a training programme for up to 10 weeks before retaking the test. Officers who fail three tests are recommended for dismissal.
There are now so many overweight policemen in Britain that a uniform supplier last year sold out of XXXL belts, which are large enough for 140cm waists. – Daily Mail