The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is re-enforcing fitness standards for recruits so as to cut the number of its obese force.

The rules allow male recruits a maximum of 22 percent body fat and women 30 percent, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Two years ago, when Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa pledged to add 1,000 officers to the LAPD, the Personnel Department relaxed its standards by allowing the maximum body fat for men to rise to 24 percent and for women to 32 percent.

The relaxed standards drew criticism from some city officials.

"My concern is we are getting police officers through the system who are grossly overweight," he said.

"I believe it is a part of this mad rush for new police officers, but they were replacing quality with quantity," Zine said.

On Friday, Deanna Stover, the medical administrator for the Personnel Department, resigned after six nurses signed a letter protesting the clearing of recruits who were out of shape, said The Times.

The nurses, who signed the protest letter, stated:

"When the medical services administration decided internally tomake this change, it was purely to 'boost' the number of candidates that would pass the exam and address a short-term problem of low pass rates."

Responding to the nurses, the department reverted to the previous standards.

"At the request of the Police Academy, we've made the change back," said Gloria Sosa, assistant general manager for the Personnel Department, from Times report.