Be trim and fit – that's the call to members of the police force in a campaign to encourage a healthy lifestyle.

The Royal Malaysian Police have launched this 'Trim and Fit 2016' campaign to encourage its members to attain optimum bodyweight.

Bukit Aman management department director Zulkifli Abdullah said the six-month pilot programme conducted in conjunction with the Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya Health Department will involve 35 cops from the federal police headquarters.

According to him, a police database had listed 11,274 of its 109,304 police officers as obese.

"We view this matter seriusly and hope that the numbers (of obese cops) will go down as soon as possible.

"More so, statistics have shown that the number of cops who passed away from diseases has hit 250," Zulkifli told reporters at the Jalan Semarak Police Training Centre in Kuala Lumpur today.

The two-day programme involved 35 participants from those identified to possess excess body weight or are obese.

It began with a talk and discussion by health experts on proper diet and physical exercises that can be done at home.

Participants were also told about the risks associated with bad eating habits and its impact on body weight.

Besides being taught physical activities, they were also being educated on calorie counting in their diet.

After the two-hour talk, participants conducted physical activities like aerobics and Zumba dancing.

Zulkifli said if the programme is sucessful after six months, it will be expanded to police officers nationwide.

Asked if participation in the Trim and Fit programme will be one of the criteria for promotion, Zulkifli said:

"I have to correct this. It does not mean that those who are trim and fit will be promoted. There are other criteria, work performance and so on.”

But he added that (promotion based on physical fitness) may be evaluated if the programme becomes a success.

"After six months of implementation, it will be a pre-requisite before we begin (promotion) interviews. We will see if they pass or not, only then can they attend the interview," he said.