The Philippine police force has dropped a requirement for officers seeking promotion to meet body fat targets. Expanding waistlines have been a hefty problem among police in the Southeast Asian country for years.
A 2019 study showed almost 35% of personnel were overweight and nearly 10% obese. Rules introduced at the start of the pandemic by former police chief Debold Sinas, who publicly acknowledged his own efforts to shed kilos through diet and exercise, made it compulsory for the 220,000 members of the force to exercise daily and submit monthly body mass index (BMI) readings.
Officers seeking to rise up the ranks were blocked if they failed to meet BMI targets, said personnel head Major General Rolando Hinanay.