The
Philippine National Police (PNP) has again suspended the use of the Body Mass
Index (BMI) as a requirement for uniformed personnel promotion.
In
a memorandum dated January 18, 2023, PNP Chief Police General Rodolfo Azurin,
Jr. approved the suspension of the Body Mass Index (BMI) as a requirement in
the computation of the Physical Fitness Test (PFT) rating.
Azurin,
on the other hand, approved the conventional computation, which simply takes
into account event or exercise performance.
According
to Police Colonel Redrico Maranan, PNP Chief Information Officer, “this means
that only the result of the event/exercise like push-up, sit-up, run, etc shall
be the basis for the result of the annual PFT of all our personnel
According
to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the body mass
index (BMI) is a measurement of body fat based on an individual’s height and
weight. This measurement is applicable to both adult males and females.
BMI
is calculated using the metric system by dividing a person’s weight in
kilograms by their height in meters squared (or by multiplying the height by
itself), or BMI= kg/m2.
According
to experts, a BMI less than 18.5 is considered underweight, and a BMI between
18.5 and 24.9 is deemed normal. A BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered
overweight, and a BMI over 30 is termed obese.
When
BMI was integrated into the PNP physical fitness examination under the
leadership of retired PNP Chief Archie Gamboa, it accounted for thirty percent
of the entire PFT performance evaluation.
The
performance on exercises, on the other hand, accounted for 70% of the PFT
evaluation. The traditional event/exercises include sit-ups, push-ups,
sprinting, and jogging.
Gamboa
pushed for the inclusion of the BMI to improve the PNP’s image in the face of
social media portrayals of police officers with bulging stomachs as corrupt,
lazy, and undisciplined.
Some
police officers complained that it was difficult to comply with the BMI policy
or that it made them feel discriminated against, prompting a recommendation to
halt its implementation during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.