Fat Cops

This photo had me in stitches one early morning:

Ate Vi rushed to see what was wrong.  She was sure I had snapped, not having heard me laugh that loud in a long time. A great way to start another extremely hot day. How refreshing it was to LOL!

I found this so funny because it hit home. Once I also couldn't bend from having a waistline as wide as my hips. That was when I suddenly found myself out of the workplace, unprepared for an early retirement.

My new pace in slomo and change of lifestyle made me eat more, sit around more, and sleep more. Before I knew it, I was thirty pounds overweight! My doctor found everything wrong with me after that and made me go through a daily-walk regimen.

Ah, how I wish I were a fat cat instead, but the loss of steady income had reduced me to a fat mess and mass.

It took many months and daily grace to shed off the unwanted pounds. And today, maintaining the ideal weight is still a constant battle for me. And I am not alone.    

Back to fat cops: According to the Philippine National Police (PNP), one in 10 policemen are obese and will have to undergo a slimming program.

The findings prompted the PNP head to warn the 145,000-strong nationwide force they could lose their jobs if they were not physically fit.

Well, Philippine cops are not alone either. Obesity is a global phenomenon:

Now, how about fat superheroes?

Well, I won't go into alien territory. I'll stay close to home.

In my own ongoing war against weight gain and other excesses, I reflect on what Paul said in his letter to the Romans (Chapter 12:1-2 KJV), “. . . present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and perfect, will of God."

Top photo: Philippine Daily Inquirer, June 21, 2012 issue