Police applicant medical assessments are thorough and costly. There are some tests you can skip if you get your body mass index in order!
Summary
Police applicants who are considered obese may be required to undergo a range of expensive and time-consuming tests to avoid their application being delayed or even cancelled. I’m going to share some important tips to help you avoid the Body Mass Index trap!
Key Points
- Every police service around the country conducts medical assessments of their applicants.
- Some have a specific requirement in regard to maximum, and minimum, allowable body mass index scores (BMI)
- BMI scoring system that determines whether a person is at a healthy weight for their height. A simple calculation of weight divided by height squared will evaluate one’s BMI.
- Victoria Police dropped their specific BMI requirement of 27.5 or less
Instead, the BMI assessment forms part of the overall medical assessment.
A BMI of 32 or more will trigger additional tests and costs
- Sleep Study
- Mean Sleep Latency Test
- A management plan
- AustRoads Medical Standards for Licensing
“But, I don’t have any issues sleeping.” BMI 32 is at risk, just like you’re at risk of cardiovascular disease.
These tests are costly and time-consuming. Both of which suck! It’s money that didn’t need to be spent and it’s time added to your application journey.
Do yourself a favour and get your BMI down to a healthy weight range before your medical stage!
If your BMI score is 32 or higher because of muscle rather than body fat, you should obtain a skin fold test and provide a brief explanation of your score.
Don’t kid yourself, your body fat percentage must be at a healthy to low range to play this card 😉
Resources
- What is Body Mass Index (BMI – with a calculator)
- Sleep Study
- Mean Sleep Latency Test
- AustRoads Medical Standards for Licensing
- But, I don’t have any issues sleeping
Need help with your police application? Reach out!
