The United States used to have one of the best military forces in the world. However, now we are fat, lazy, and highly defunded. And just how overweight are we? Well, according to reports, our military is 70% overweight.
From The Military Times:
More than two-thirds of active duty service members are within the overweight or obese ranges of the body mass index, according to a report by the American Security Project released Thursday.
Defense Department data shows that the obesity rate, calculated using a person’s age, height and weight, has more than doubled over the past decade, from 10% to roughly 21%. At the same time, more than half of young Americans now qualify as obese, and it’s the no. 1 disqualifier for recruiting prospects.
“At a time when we are struggling to recruit an adequate labor force for the military, the growing rates of obesity are especially alarming,” said Matthew Wallin, chief operating officer of the American Security Project. “No person defending our country should find themselves unsupported and unequipped to fight a personal battle against obesity.”
The report’s major recommendations include reviewing body composition standards, as BMI tends to underestimate obesity when compared to more high-tech body fat measurement devices; troops with high BMI should be referred to credentialed doctors with an expertise in treating obesity; and DoD should include BMI data on reports it provides to Congress on recruiting and retention.
“The growing prevalence of obesity in service members reduces the readiness of the all-volunteer military, but it isn’t a moral failing; it’s a health crisis,” the report reads. “Framing obesity as an issue of insufficient willpower or discipline prevents soldiers from seeking and receiving treatment, makes commanders and healthcare workers less inclined to intervene, and worsens health outcomes across the services.”
The BMI, which is based on a 200-year-old calculation that sought to define the body composition of the “normal man,” has faced controversy in recent years.
The American Medical Association in June updated its policy on BMI, acknowledging “historical harm” and “racist exclusion” associated with the index, “because BMI is based primarily on data collected from previous generations of non-Hispanic white populations.”
The new policy urges doctors to use BMI as one measure of body composition, complemented by measurements of visceral fat, body adiposity index, body composition, relative fat mass, waist circumference and genetic/metabolic factors.”
While yes, the BMI measurement is certainly an old method, at the end of the day, the numbers don't lie.
Regardless of all these other factors, our nation and our military are getting bigger and bigger, and it's time we stop making excuses and start taking action to solve the problem.
