BMI campaign for a ‘fit & fighting' CRPF as growing number of heart attacks spark concern

The Print

7 hours ago

The BMI measures the weight and hence the overall health of an individual. An ideal BMI ranges between 18.5 to 24.9 for a healthy individual while a BMI in excess of 30 is considered 'obese'.
The campaign, scheduled to run in two phases for nearly two and half months, will be applicable to all CRPF personnel except those who are in the final two years of their service, a CRPF spokesperson said Tuesday. The campaign started off with the CRPF Director General Gyanendra Pratap Singh recording his own BMI.
New Delhi: Taking note of the problem of obesity in its rank and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's repeated calls for action on the issue, the chief of the Central Reserve Police Force Tuesday inaugurated a Body Mass Index (BMI) campaign to influence and urge personnel to work towards achieving full fitness.
The development comes nearly five months after PM Modi emphasised on the issue of obesity and urged a nationwide awareness and collective action campaign to reduce obesity, particularly through lower oil consumption. The call was reiterated by him during his speech on Independence Day.
'This initiative seeks to ensure that every jawan and officer remains healthy, capable, and combat-ready—reinforcing CRPF as both a 'Fit Force' and a resilient 'Fighting Force', the CRPF spokesperson said.
The campaign comes at a time when the issue of illness and heart attacks leading to death of personnel, especially in challenging terrains, has been flagged by the Ministry of Home Affairs in response to questions in Parliament.
Earlier in August 2024, ThePrint reported that the number of deaths caused by illnesses and heart attacks is double that of casualties suffered (207) in counter-Naxal operations between 1 January 2019 and 15 July 2024 among all the Central Armed Police Forces, which lost a total of 577 personnel in the Naxal-infested areas of the country.
The CRPF, which is the primary counter-Naxal force among the paramilitary forces, suffered the highest loss to illnesses and heart attacks in Naxal-affected areas, with 297 deaths between 2019 and 2023. The number of deaths witnessed a surge in the post-pandemic period before plateauing: 45 in 2019, 63 in 2020, 73 in 2021, 62 in 2022, and 54 in 2023.
The idea and objective
In the first phase of the campaign, all personnel will go through the process of recording BMI under the supervision of their corresponding senior officers and medical staff.
To ensure accuracy of the measure and to fix accountability in case of any lapse, specific supervision guidelines have been set.
The BMI reading and supervision of the process for senior officers will be done at the level of sectors, zones and then finally at headquarter levels.
For officers, measurements will be taken in the presence of the Head of Office, the spokesperson further said. For ranks below officers, body weight measurements will be recorded by hospital staff in the presence of their respective Company Commander.
After recording of measurement and its assessment, personnel with BMI above prescribed level will receive focused support through dietary guidance, physical exercise, and supervised training programmes.
These structured regimens would take place at three designated specialised centres of the force where personnel undergoing rehabilitation will be provided with schedules for exercises and proper nutritional guidance specific to individual requirements.
'A follow-up BMI assessment will be conducted after three months to evaluate progress,' the spokesperson further said.
'While assessing BMI, due consideration will be given to muscle mass and bone density. Recording of BMI is mandatory for all personnel below 58 years and voluntary for those aged between 58 and 60 years,' he said.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: 'Must take proactive steps'—PM Modi reiterates concern over obesity crisis in I-Day address