Obesity has become such a problem in America that it’s even affecting our police force. I recently read a story about police officers who are failing their physicals, having to retake them. To be honest, considering what we expect from police officers I was very surprised. Their physical is not that difficult, in light of what we expect them to do for our cities and towns, in protecting us.
These fitness exams consisted of push-ups, one and a half mile run, obstacle course and a flexibility test. For someone who is going out to serve and protect, this really doesn’t seem like an impossible feat. However, apparently it is proving to be more difficult than it should be due to obesity problems facing our country.
I also read that Mississippi has the highest rate of both adult and child obesity in the entire nation. Don’t get me wrong, the problem with police officers passing their physicals is taking place in many other cities. This appears to be a rising problem, too.
Studies have been done that showed in Massachusetts, 77% of their fire and emergency medical technicians were overweight or obese. That is a high number, considering the physicality of their jobs and our reliance upon them to save our lives.
There has even been talk that physical strength standards are being lowered just to avoid discrimination lawsuits. I’m sorry but if I am relying on a police officer to serve and protect, I would prefer that person to be in the best physical shape possible. Is that really being discriminatory?
Honestly, I believe it all begins in childhood. We are raising our children up on junk food, television and video games. Today’s children just aren’t as active as they used to be. We have too many couch potatoes who are growing up to be overweight and obese adults. We have to start young with teaching children how to be healthy. It is not just about avoiding the extra weight; it is about prolonging their lives with good health.
We need our children to grow up to be healthy and ready to take on whatever career choice they like.
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