DPS adds new gauge of troopers’ success: waistline measurements
AUSTIN — In addition to patrolling Texas highways, state troopers now must keep a close watch on their waistlines.
The Department of Public Safety is implementing new fitness measures this fall that require male officers’ waistlines to be slimmer than 40 inches. Women’s waists must measure 35 inches or less. Those who can’t hit those marks could face disciplinary measures including reassignment. The policy has drawn some pushback from within the ranks, especially from older officers and troopers in rural areas who don’t have access to gym equipment or showers at work, said Jack Crier, executive director of the Texas State Troopers Association.
“Some people complained,” Crier said. “A lot of people were in support.”
Department leaders have pitched the policy — considered part of improving an officer’s “command presence” — as a way to promote health. Officers already have to pass two physical fitness tests each year that can include push-ups, running, rowing and crunches.
“Health and fitness are directly related to the job of a commissioned officer,” Deputy Director of Law Enforcement Services Skylor Hearn said in a statement. “Obesity adversely impacts American society as a whole and the law enforcement professional specifically, as maladies associated to obesity impact personal
health and job performance.”
It’s not clear how many of the department’s roughly 4,000 commissioned officers are at risk of failing the waist test. Nationwide, average men and women have waist sizes that exceed the new department standards, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In a February memo, Hearn said three officers failed the physical fitness assessment last year, but an estimated 22 percent of commissioned personnel would have fallen outside the waistline threshold. A vast majority of those came within 2 inches of the requirement, he said.
The waist measurements set by the department are what’s recommended by the CDC as an obesity assessment, he said.
Richard Jankovsky, president of the Texas Department of Public Safety Officers Association, said the policy is affecting members.
“There are negative consequences associated with it,” he said.
Those with waists above the threshold can qualify with two other measurements — drawn from the Defense Department — that are based on height and weight or a percentage of body fat, according to a department presentation. Officers will be given some leeway in the first year. Those who don’t meet the requirements by December will be put on an individualized nutrition and exercise program, Hearn said.
Troopers who fail the tests after that could face serious sanctions, including being reassigned, denied overtime or deemed ineligible for promotion.
The Public Safety Commission signed off on the waistline policy in February , which took effect in September, meeting minutes show. The fitness requirement, however, is back on the commission’s agenda this month, raising questions about whether more changes may be coming.
It’s not clear how many police departments across the country measure their officers’ waistlines.
A 2018 study of police recruits found those with greater waist sizes tended to perform more poorly in fitness tests. But the study’s lead author Robert Lockie questioned how the state’s policy will be implemented.
“If you have a higher waist circumference, it’s going to potentially lead to poorer health outcomes, heart disease, things like that,” said Lockie, an assistant professor in strength and conditioning at California State University, Fullerton. “But does that influence how you do your job? That’s another question entirely.”