Fatties told to slim down
2005-06-21 11:06
Bangkok - Eighty-five overweight Bangkok traffic cops signed up Tuesday for a programme to trim their bulging waistlines after a survey found half the city force suffers diet-related health problems, police said.
The police, known in the Thai capital for their tight, midriff-hugging brown uniforms, must slim down below 102cm waistlines or shift to desk jobs.
"There are 85 policemen joining the diet programme, the heaviest of which has a 124cm waist," Lieutenant General Parnsiri Prapawat, commissioner of Bangkok Metropolitan Police, said at a launch ceremony.
The heavyweights enter a two-week course at a private hospital, where they engage in an exercise regimen before eating a nutritional dinner of grains and vegetables, Parnsiri said.
Those who don't meet the new svelte requirements continue on for another two weeks, expanding their programme to aerobics, yoga and even acupuncture.
Participants who show little or no progress will be ordered to live at the hospital for as long as one more month.
The total cost of the program is 300 000 baht ($7 300), Parnsiri said.
A health check-up of the city's 4 150 traffic police officers this year found that almost half suffered from high cholesterol and gout, which is brought on in part by a diet high in rich foods such as red meat.
Deputy police commissioner Major General Montri Chamroon said the police had already been urged to slim down and the hospital programme was a last resort in fighting the battle of the bulge in police ranks.
"This is not punishment. We want to motivate them to care more about their health," Montri said.
"If they cannot lose the weight, we will have to find them more suitable jobs, because to have them standing in the road increases their risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes."