From Your Health Journal…..”This article really caught my interest. Back in the day, when I was in high school, our PE teacher used to make us practicing marching. He would tell us that PE in his day was to prepare young men for the Army. Of course, he scared ‘the daylights’ out of us! Now, reading this article, it states that 75 percent of recruits who want to join the Army are ineligible because of obesity. Of the remaining 25 percent who make it through, 65 percent cannot pass the physical training test on the first day of camp. I guess my old PE teacher had a crystal ball – to a point, as I wonder what he would think today reading this article. First, he’d probably reflect the importance of physical education in the schools to help prepare children for a life of healthy lifestyle. Second, he would probably be real disappointed to see many Army recruits struggling to keep lean and fit. The article states how obesity is a national security threat – another reason to keep young children healthy and fit.”

From the article…..

About 75 percent of recruits who want to join the US Army are ineligible because of obesity, according to a recent report.

As some experts have pointed out, our obesity epidemic in the United States is not just a public health issue, though obesity certainly has been linked to increased risk factors for various ailments. It is also a national security problem. According to a recent report, about 75 percent of recruits who want to join the Army are ineligible because of obesity. Of the remaining 25 percent who make it through, 65 percent cannot pass the physical training test on the first day of camp.

Perhaps even more alarmingly, the Army has started discharging an increasing number of troops because the soldiers do not meet fitness standards. Currently, obesity is the leading cause of ineligibility for people who want to join the military.

The Centers for Disease Control reports that 35.7 percent of Americans are obese. That fact has not escaped military recruitment desks. Between 1998 and 2010, the number of troops labeled overweight or obese has more than tripled.

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