Nearly 200 Phnom Penh Military Police officers have been selected to attend fitness training sessions in order to lose weight, decrease their cholesterol and ensure they maintain their health and avoid disease.

National Military Police deputy commander Rath Sreang, who is also Phnom Penh’s Military Police chief, was quoted by the Phnom Penh Military Police website as saying that this is the third time such sessions had been held.

“A total of 181 Military Police officers have been selected to attend this time. Previous sessions involved Military Police and soldiers. All the trainees have been enthusiastic in taking part,” he said.

Sreang said the objective was to help the attendees lose weight, maintain healthy bodies and prevent diseases related to obesity.

He requested the trainees to follow their trainers’ instructions and advice, be patient and work hard on their diet and exercise regimes.

National Military Police spokesman Eng Hy said he was too busy to provide further comments.

Tuol Kork district Military Police chief Long Vichet said 10 of his officers had been selected to join the training and that he hoped to see them having strong and healthy bodies.

“Exercise makes us healthy, so I exercise nearly every day. This morning before I went to work, I ran two or three kilometres, and when I come back home from work this evening, I will run some more.

“Sometimes, I cannot find the opportunity to exercise as I’m too busy, but we should try to exercise every day,” he stressed.

Vichet said those selected would attend a one-day training session at the Phnom Penh Military Police Command.

The trainees, he said, must listen and follow their trainers’ instructions so they are in a position to begin losing weight and decreasing their cholesterol.

After that, Vichet said, the trainees must spend three months exercising in their own homes or at a gym, either at the Military Police Command or elsewhere in the city.

He said if the trainees do not achieve positive results within three months, the trainers will adopt other strategies to help them.

Phuong Sophy, the Military Police commander in the capital’s Prek Pnov district, said he supported the training because it could help his Military Police officers become strong and healthy.

“I train every day. I exercise for one or two hours when I am away from work. Sometimes I run, and other times I go to the gym,” he said.

Sophy encouraged all members of the armed forces, as well as the public to get as much exercise as possible in order to stay healthy and prevent diseases such as high blood pressure, stroke and gout.

The Phnom Penh Military Police Command said: “The selection process for the 181 trainees was more than just a cursory visual evaluation of people with big bellies. Their height was measured and they were weighed in order to determine their body fat content.”