Cops pledge to lose 500,000 lbs for 1M-lb Nat’l Weight Loss Challenge

Police around the Philippines will have six months to lose 500,000 pounds starting next month for the FIT Filipino (FitFil) Movement's National Weight Loss Challenge.

"[Under] our Chief, Philippine National Police Director General Ronald Dela Rosa, we pledge to donate 500,000 pounds," PNP Deputy Director General Fernando Mendez Jr. said at the launch of the program on Tuesday.

"We intend to get a response from all the police senior offices and different police [offices] for a few weeks... and their weight will be [recorded] by the health service," he added.

Mendez said the Philippine National Police (PNP) decided to participate in the challenge instituted by Biggest Loser Philippines trainers Jim and Toni Saret to make the public aware of the police's fitness program and keep their officers healthy.

"We don't our personnel to suffer cardiovascular diseases," he explained. "We do this to help keep our personnel free to run after criminals."

One million pounds in six months

The Sarets came up with the concept of the National Weight Loss Challenge in December to give athletes and people trying to lose weight an avenue to keep themselves motivated and address inquiries they get every day about fitness and nutrition.

"The idea is basically to give people who are working out or losing weight to be together because weight loss is more of a personal journey, that's what we noticed," Jim Saret explained. "We wanted to do something that everybody's going to do."

"If we're going to help the entire country, we have to collaborate with everyone, we can't be by ourselves. So it started with talking to the Philippine Heart Association... then we were surprised when [they] said we'll support you with this."

Another motivator for the celebrity trainers is Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) Director Mario Capanzana's note that three in 10 Filipinos are overweight or obese.

The figure comes from the FNRI's 8th National Nutrition Survey, wherein obesity was classified as a "growing epidemic" among children and adults, particularly those living in urban settings.

It also forwards their advocacy of health as a birthright, achievable regardless of age or social class.

"It's a birthright. Hindi ibig sabihin mayaman ka — walang pinipili ang sakit, walang kinikilingan ang fitness. Mayaman ka, mahirap ka, bata ka, matanda ka, payat, malaki... it's the same. Fitness is for everyone," Toni Saret said.

Various medical associations, including the Philippine Medical Association, have joined FitFil, PHA, and the PNP in pledging pounds to achieve their goal of losing one million pounds nationwide.

How to join the challenge

Joining the challenge is completely free and can be started right at home.

Participants must register at fitfil.ph, then weigh in at official centers located at Robinsons Supermarket, partner fitness centers like Anytime Fitness and Fitness First, and other accredited locations.

They must then create a pledge and share it on social media with the hashtags #FitFilChallengeAccepted and #PledgeToDonate with their target weight.

Once June 6 hits, they must engage in any form of exercise until the end of the six-month challenge or reach their target. Prizes await participants who make their target weight.

Free workout, nutrition, health, and medical tips are available on the FitFil website along with freebies from partner organizations. — BM, GMA News