More police, fire recruits flunk fitness test

USA Today reports:

Last year, the Cambridge Health Alliance and researchers from Harvard University and Boston University found that 77% of fire and emergency medical technician trainees in Massachusetts were either overweight or obese.

Harvard School of Public Health professor Stefanos Kales, one of the authors of the report, said no national studies on recruits exist, but in localized studies researchers "consistently find that among police and firefighters, generally three-quarters are overweight and that includes one-third that are obese."

The picture may be worse, he said. Some departments have lowered physical strength standards to avoid discrimination lawsuits, he said.

"In combination with a less fit pool," he said, "that will end up allowing more obese recruits to successfully join these services."