So we thought we’d tell you about how the Los Angeles Police Department has hired a full-time dietician to help pudgy police pitch pounds.

Rana Parker has provided personal counseling to about 90 recruits, taught a nutrition course to 500 others and made presentations to 400 officers.

Is there a recent propensity for police with paunches?

In fact, there is. Faced with a need for more officers, the LAPD briefly relaxed maximum body fat limits from their usual 22% for men and 30% for women.

One idea Parker pushes: Lay off the fast food.

On busy days, it’s tempting for officers to grab a burger and fries, a slice of pizza, or a microwave burrito.

Parker encourages officers and recruits to keep power bars, fruit and peanut butter sandwiches around. They’re easy to fix and can be eaten quickly.

And when you think about it, that’s not bad advice for any of us who are bogged down at work.

So, no more cops gathering at donut shops. Now you’ll have to look for them in the healthy foods aisle.

Depending on how long you’ve been in the working world, you’ve seen anti-smoking policies gradually become more stringent. But just when some employees thought these rules were as tough as they could get, another wrinkle comes along.

The history of workplace anti-smoking policies in 20 words or less: designated smoking rooms; no smoking indoors; must be 20 feet from entrance; only in designated outdoor areas.

Most recently, some companies have started no-tobacco policies. Employees must sign documents that they don’t use any tobacco products. Reason: An effort to reduce ever-growing healthcare costs.

Ever wonder how these companies would enforce these policies? Well, one Whirlpool factory in Evansville, IN, has decided to suspend employees the company claims lied about smoking.

Whirlpool has suspended 39 workers who signed insurance documents that they don’t use tobacco products.

No blood tests or lab analysis was required. Whirlpool says the 39 were observed smoking or chewing tobacco on company property. A company spokeswoman says some could be fired for lying, according to wire service reports.

Whirlpool uses various financial incentives – and disincentives – to encourage its employees to give up smoking or chewing.

In Evansville, the factory charges tobacco users an extra $500 in annual health insurance premiums.

The employees will each get to present their cases to management before a final decision is made whether to fire them.

Growing trend

A 2007 national survey of employers with more than 20,000 employees shows 16% adjust healthcare premiums according to workers’ tobacco use.

The federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) limits the changes an employer can make to a health premium because of a worker’s unhealthy habits. However, there’s no limit on the penalty if employees lie about their status.

For employers that want to use a more definitive approach, there’s the option of testing applicants before they join the company to see if they are tobacco users. The Cleveland Clinic, for example, now tests applicants for a compound found in nicotine. If the test comes up positive, the applicants will be offered help quitting – but not the job.

As you might expect, these policies are being watched closely – and criticized. Lewis Maltby, president of the National Workrights Institute doesn’t have a problem with employers trying to discourage employees from smoking. But he sees this as a slippery slope.

Maltby worries that the health police will soon extend beyond tobacco use and into other unhealthy behaviors.

“We shouldn’t have to give employers complete control over our private life so they can save a few dollars on medical care,” he said in an interview.

Someone should tell him it may already be too late. Weyco, a medical benefits firm in Michigan, has increased the monthly health insurance premiums of employees who refuse to take mandated medical tests and physical exams.

Blue Cross/Blue Shield of North Carolina gives employees who participate in wellness programs a discount in their health insurance payments. Workers who don’t participate have to pay full price.

Companies thinking of instituting some of these policies should be careful. About 30 states have laws that forbid companies from firing employees who participate in legal activities – and smoking is legal.

But Whirlpool has found a way around that. Remember, if it fires any of the 39 suspended employees, it won’t be for smoking. It will be for lying about whether they use tobacco.

So, are you ready to tell your employees, “Drop the bacon double-cheeseburger, or else”?

Let’s hear what you think about these policies. And if your company has one, let us know about that, too.