estern Australia's (WA's) police have been getting fitter, stronger and healthier after more than three years of the agency's Fit for LIFE corporate health strategy. Introduced by Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan APM in May 2006, Fit for LIFE has helped introduce a wide range of big and small initiatives, from organising cooking workshops to including modern gymnasiums in police stations.

Fit for LIFE Executive Manager Mark Neates said research had shown that when organisations introduced programs addressing employee health, fitness and wellbeing, injury rates and absenteeism went down.

"It's early days yet for Fit for LIFE," he said. "But colloquial evidence certainly suggests that we're starting to have an impact. We're seeing increased participation in sports and we get a lot of positive feedback on our various initiatives.

"Police officers can be particularly susceptible to health problems because they often work long hours as shift workers in an unpredictable and stressful job. With that in mind, it's absolutely essential that our organisation continues to introduce measures to encourage healthy living among our members."

Fit for the job

The Fit for LIFE strategy aims to improve the health, fitness and wellbeing of police from several different perspectives. The first is the need for police officers to be physically strong, fit and capable as individuals.

"Being a police officer anywhere in the world involves arresting criminals," Mr Neates said. "Police need to assert a physical presence, so strength and general physical fitness, stamina and flexibility are all important physical qualities for an officer."

To encourage all WA Police employees to improve and maintain their physical fitness, Fit for LIFE introduced a gymnasium strategy aimed at providing gyms and exercise equipment in police workplaces throughout the State. Funding and space limitations mean not every workplace can have its own gym, but new gyms have been springing up in police facilities throughout the State.

Beyond the gym, Fit for LIFE works closely with the agency's existing sporting body, the WA Police Sports Federation (WAPSF). With more than 1600 members, WAPSF provides sponsorship for members undertaking sporting activities and hosts more than 15 corporate sporting teams. WAPSF teams compete in a wide range of sports – from cricket, soccer and basketball to football and even lawn bowls – in local community games right up to national competitions and will field a team in the World Police and Fire Games in 2011.

Fit for lifestyle

Supporting initiatives in the gym and on the sporting field, Fit for LIFE's strategy includes a range of personal development initiatives to encourage healthier living among all WA Police employees. Initiatives such as healthy cooking demonstrations, stress management and men's health seminars aim to keep the blood pressure down, and to measure the effects, employees are also offered biennial one-on-one health assessments. These include a full blood screen and aim to detect early signs of health problems that could be prevented with lifestyle changes, such as high blood pressure or blood sugar levels and high cholesterol.

In an organisation the size of WA Police, working with individuals is only half the battle to improve health and fitness – the agency as a whole has to support the effort, which means introducing new policies and overhauling some old ones.

"We're always on the look out for new initiatives to improve the health and lifestyle of WA Police's employees and these include a catering policy, a vending machine policy and nutrition guidelines for shift workers," Mr Neates said. "We've also been encouraging workplace social clubs to offer healthier food options at their social events."

Fit for the future

Fit for LIFE faces a number of challenges into the future. Mr Neates said it would be important for the initiative to adapt to new lifestyle-related health issues as they arise and introduce more mental-health programs.

"Getting people to change their lifestyle is not an easy feat – it happens over a long timeframe," he said. "I've no doubt we're only beginning to make real changes to the health of our staff. For the future, with commitment from the organisation and ongoing support, we aim to keep our police officers fit and healthy, which in turn will keep them more productive and make WA safer."