PALO, Leyte -- Philippine National Police (PNP) is upbeat that 70 percent of policemen nationwide will be able to achieve an ideal body mass index (BMI) this July as part of its weight loss campaign.
PNP chief Gen. Archie Gamboa said they are optimistic to attain the target with overweight policemen who have committed to losing two to three kilograms of their weight every month.
“The image of PNP will improve if policemen maintain an ideal body mass index. I want to impose a healthy lifestyle so that when police officers retire, they don’t have to spend a lot from their pension for treatment,” Gamboa told reporters here on Tuesday.
The PNP chief was in town to visit the police regional office here along with top officials from the national headquarters for command conference and a meeting with key police officials in the region.
Of the 180,300 police force, only 55 percent have normal BMI, 35 percent are overweight, 9 percent are obese, and 1 percent are underweight, Gamboa said.
BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to adult men and women. It is obtained by dividing a person’s weight expressed in kilograms by his or her height in meters.
For most adults, an ideal BMI is ranging from 18.5 to 24.9. A range of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight while those having 30 and above are considered obese.
Gamboa said there was no deadline set for policemen to attain their ideal weight, but he asked them to show some improvement monthly or a reduction of two to three kilograms.
Overweight police officers will not be allowed to go to schooling for career advancement that would affect their chances of promotion.
Early last month, Gamboa ordered that all policemen attain a normal BMI for them to be able to perform their jobs well. (PNA)