Fat police could put World Cup fans 'at risk'

[T_i_B]

Source: Daily Telegraph (UK)

A study on Metro police officers in the city of Port Elizabeth found more than half were medically obese.

Officials said the extra pounds could reduce the police force's ability to fight crime and protect tourists during the World Cup.

Elizabeth Trent, a Port Elizabeth councillor, said: "It's a major concern that our police are so large. That means there are a lot of officers out there who might struggle to chase a suspect or react quickly in a crisis."

World Cup organisers have promised South Africa's police will be able to keep control during the month-long tournament despite high crime rates across the country.

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/7396431/Fat-police-could-put-World-Cup-fans-at-risk.html

[dipsydoodle]

1. The bigger they are.............

.

[Cid_B]

2. Wonder if they counted as BMI...

Throw me in the medically obese pile as well.

225 lbs 14% body fat 6'0 tall....

[fasttense]

4. Yeah, those silly BMI ratings are simply based on height and weight.

That's what the BMI was suppose to replace, the height and weight charts developed by insurance companies. But they are no better.

[TheMadMonk]

6. WTF ever happened to "pinch an inch"?

Grab a fold of belly and if you have more than an inch between thumb and fingers you have a problem. How much more than an inch determines how much of a problem.

[Occulus]

10. I'm 5'7", 135lb. fully clothed.

I can "pinch an inch", but there's no way I'm going out of my way to lose weight. I'm thin enough as it is.

[PatrynXX]

7. title like that and might as well use retard while your at it.

Disgusting title. Fat and Obese are used way too much. doesn't help someone to call them fat or obese. I should know. I'd still consider myself overweight. Couple of the actors on the Oscars last night, that would be obese.

[dmallind]

9. I disagree

And I disagree at 5'11 and 280 incidentally. I am fat. I am obese. I have no problems with these words. I disagree with using them to mean anything else (it is strange how often the words "fat" and "stupid" are used together, and it's also strange how RW nuts are always categorized as fat white suburbanites - a trifecta for me!) but they are fine to describe the amount of adipose tissue I have. If I cared enough I would not be fat or obese. I certainly know it would be much harder for me to avoid being fat than for many others, but with sufficient determination and effort I could avoid being so. I would still score high on the silly BMI charts because I am also very muscular and would be overweight at an unachievable and undesirable 0% bodyfat (196lbs) but nobody would call me fat.

Now I personally happen to know I'm not long for this world and for a cause completely unrelated to my weight, but I have been fat/obese for 15+ years before I knew this, and it never bothered me all that much to be so. The utility of avoiding the unappetizing foods and absence of beer, plus the gruelling hours of aerobic exercise, I would have needed to avoid being fat was and is more harmful to me than any potential increase in physical fitness OR lifespan (before I knew that latter was irrelevant in my case)would have been beneficial. My answer was always that I would rather die of a heart attack at 65 having lived the way I wanted to for those years than die of cancer at 85 having spent 65 years of enduring a miserable existence necessary to take a natural endomorph like myself and render me acceptable to the GQ/Cosmo set. Even when I know I'll never even make 45, that answer is just that much easier to explain that's all. It will not bother me if you call me fat in the interim.

[Socal31]

11. They arent used enough.

Stop trying to downplay a major medical problem.

[FarCenter]

8. Only by 5 lbs

[paulsby]

14. me too

nationally ranked strength athlete
currently 216 lbs 14% bf
5'10"

BMI is a joke.

don't get me wrong. i work with lots of fat ass cops.

the union and the dept. would never agree to fitness standards. the dept. would have to PAY us to work out, among other things.

[Cid_B]

16. Fantastic...

Medically obese law enforcement unite!

[paulsby]

18. i'm there with you, man!

beeeeeefcake!

[vadawg]

17. dude we actually get paid to workout for an hour when we work the jail

they see it as a timeout and stress reliever as well as a chance to put on some muscle or work our cardio, i got no idea what my body fat percentage is but im 260 at 6'2 and i guess im a little heavier than when i trudged the boonies carrying 80lbs of gear.... oh and we till have some fat asses but they come in handy in a fight, nothing like a 400lb guy sitting on you to stop your aggressive actions ;)

[paulsby]

19. some agencies around here do thaat

redmond PD iirc, gets 3 hrs a week to workout on shift.

otoh, it's REDMOND PD

they hand out free lattes with case reports :)

[vadawg]

20. they call ours wellness and you get an hour or so every shift if you want it

it is kinda nice if your having one of those days, you can just go for a walk and patrol around for an hour.. especially if you are having one of those days...

[iandhr]

3. lay off the doughnuts

[SpiralHawk]

5. What we need is a Global Doughnut Ban

[Thor_MN]

12. Well, I'm afraid that the fat police would ticket me...

I could stand to lose a few pounds.

OTOH, medically obese by the frickin' BMI, if that is what they are using, is worse than meaningless.

[DavidDvorkin]

13. If the two policemen shown in the picture at the link are typical

then the problem is real.

[cigsandcoffee]

15. The "obese police" would have been more appropriate than "fat police.'

And it would have rhymed.

[petronius]

21. So what do they do now?

"That means there are a lot of officers out there who might struggle to chase a suspect or react quickly in a crisis"

Is Port Elizabeth suffering a crime wave where criminals run away laughing from huffing-and-puffing coppers? Or did someone see an opportunity to use the World Cup as a two-for-one (cops and fat folks) bash?

:shrug: