Playing their part to combat obesity, the men in blue have launched a pilot project to ensure a fitter and trimmer police force.

The programme, called the “Trim N Fit”, was launched yesterday and saw 35 “chubby” police officers from the federal police’s management department selected to participate in the project.

The officers risk not getting promoted or confirmed if their fat stays, said Bukit Aman’s management director Zulkifli Abdullah as quoted by The Star Online.

“It’s a pilot project to ensure that policemen stay fit during their service. Our main task is to enforce the law and maintain public order. Therefore, we need our men to always be fit.”

Some were fit when they joined but had piled up the pounds, letting themselves go because of work and poor discipline in maintaining a healthy diet, he added.

Admitting that police had done something similar in the past, Zulkifli however said there was no drastic measure in ensuring the health of police officers.

“We need a formula that works. That’s why we can’t start this programme nationwide simultaneously.

“We don’t just want fit officers and personnel, we also want them to have no health complications.”

Zulkifli, who will also participate in the programme, said the six-month programme would be piloted in Bukit Aman before being implemented nationwide.

“So far, we have about 11,000 obese personnel and officers but that’s only a conservative number.

“For those who have been ‘certified’ fit, we will also make random checks to ensure they still are fit after the programme,” he said, adding that police top guns were not excluded from participation.

The participants – which were selected based on their BMI level which exceeded 25kg/m2 – will undergo gym regimes and a healthy diet.

The programme aims to ensure they lose about five percent to 10 percent of their weight, body fat and waistline within six months.