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| Nearly 70 Percent of US Troops Are Overweight or Obese |
| 2023-10-21 |
| [NewsMax] Nearly 7 in 10 U.S. service members are considered either overweight or obese, according to a recent study, which said the statistic highlights a significant challenge that could profoundly impact national security. The American Security Project, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, assessed the body mass index of U.S. troops, reported the New York Post, and found 68% of them fall into the categories of "overweight" or "obese" under BMI criteria, reflecting a troubling trend that has taken shape over the past decade. The study revealed that the number of troops categorized as "obese" has "more than doubled" over the past decade, surging from "10.4% in 2012" to "21.6%" in the most recent year. The report highlights the "dire threat" the trend poses. "To ensure the long-term strength and operability of the armed forces," the report stated, "services must decisively and cohesively address obesity within their ranks, maintain strong body composition standards, and bring health policies in line with evidence-based recommendations. "Identifying, diagnosing, and treating obesity within soldiers at the front lines of our national defense may ultimately determine the long-term survival of the force. It may not be easy, but it is long overdue." |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #6 68% of them fall into the categories of "overweight" or "obese" under BMI criteria It is nice when you can characterize a complex system with a single number. It is even nicer when that number means something. BMI is a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters. It kinda sort works for your average person, but as others have mentioned, it tags very fit people as obese. I could believe 70% of troops are overweight, but I would want better evidence than BMI numbers. Hey, since the real issue is fitness and not mass, why don't we use a test, like how long it takes to run a mile? Of course, that is a bit racist because it discriminates against persons who are un-possessors of legs. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2023-10-21 20:08 |
| #5 Walking on iron or running a CAT. Sorry old thumbs. |
| Posted by: Jefe101 2023-10-21 14:33 |
| #4 Perhaps the fit ones are otherwise occupied walking in iron or cunning a CAT? Woke advertising has its toll |
| Posted by: Jefe101 2023-10-21 14:32 |
| #3 "overweight" or "obese" under BMI criteria ...which only looks at weight vs height. I remember Old Spook complaining that he was forever being spoken to by civilian doctors because the BMI charts don’t take into account strong bones and serious muscularity. So quite possibly there is a real obesity crisis in our military — all those men taking estrogen will have an effect on the statistics in addition to lowered standards — but BMI is not the way to measure it in a population intended to be much more muscular that the civilian norm. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2023-10-21 14:02 |
| #2 Surprise, surprise. Lower physical fitness standards so Missy can pass them and guess what. Dudes aren't training as hard as they used to in order to burn off all the calories. Besides, morning physical training isn't as important as making the DEI classes for your evaluation. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2023-10-21 11:46 |
| #1 I blame the improvement of MRE selection and flavor. Freeze dried corn dog was just too tasty. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2023-10-21 11:21 |