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American Military Obesity Rates are Going Up

posted by Admin User at 2016-10-11 14:05:00


For the first time in years, the Pentagon has announced that military personnel who are clinically overweight are increasing. Data published in the Military Times reveals that according to the Defense Department about 7.8 percent of the military is clinically overweight (having a body weight index, BMI, higher than 25). That’s about one in every thirteen troops.BMIs appear to be higher among women, blacks, Hispanics and older service members. The current rate has increased significantly in the past 15 years. In 2001, just 1.6 percent – one in sixty troops – were overweight.

However, the proportion of overweight individuals in the military are far fewer than the civilian US population, which is at a staggering 70 percent according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Pentagon health officials have stated that this won’t affect military performance and is nothing to worry about. Dr. Terry Adirim, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for health services policy and oversight, advised that there may not even be a rise in obesity, but just a greater awareness of the condition because of which it might be reported more often. 

But others on the battlefield may not feel the same. In situations where a group is under attack, some feel that overweight soldiers could potentially slow them down, and it would also be difficult to carry them if injured.  “If I have to climb up to the top of a mountain in Nuristan, in Afghanistan, and if I have someone who is classified as clinically obese, they are potentially going to be a liability for me on that patrol,” said Army Command Sgt. Maj. John Troxell, the military’s top noncommissioned officer and the senior enlisted adviser to Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford in a recent interview.

While he doesn’t worry that obesity trends in the military are a major concern right now, he does believe that they should be addressed.​
 
posted at: 2016-10-11 14:05:00, last updated: 2016-10-11 14:06:20
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