Obesity Strikes U.S. Military

By Tasia DeMuth

FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Colorado remains resilient against the ever growing problem of obesity that is not only effecting the health of individuals, but also inhibiting military recruitment and performance.

Across the nation, the military has been struggling to fill its ranks because an increasing number of people are too heavy to serve. Since Colorado is the thinnest state with an 18.6 percent obesity rate in 2009, the state’s recruitment has been effected less.

“We (CSU ROTC) have been very fortunate that the majority of our cadets embrace the physical fitness aspects and have excelled in that regard when compared to most cadets from other Army ROTC programs,” said Peter Bleich, the enrollment and scholarship officer for Colorado State University’s ROTC program.

Though Colorado is the most fit, no state met the Healthy People 2010 obesity target of 15%. Instead the obesity rate increased by 1.1 percent nationwide. Thus, obesity is increasing in its prominence in every state.

“Obesity has been a growing problem for America in several areas, and the military is not exempt,” said Marine Corp Recruiter Sergeant Adams, who prefers to go by this name for privacy reasons.

According to statistics from Mission: Readiness, a non-profit group of retired senior military leaders, 27 percent of Americans ages 17-24 weigh too much to be in the military. Subsequently, nine million people are ineligible to serve their country because of their weight.

“A higher percentage of young people that enter the military need to work harder to meet the physical requirements,” said Bleich.

Current military participants are effected by weight as well. According to data from the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, 58.4 percent of soldiers, age 21 and up, are overweight.

“We just had our PT (physical training) test and a handful failed,” said ROTC member Stephen Yoxheimer.

CSU’s ROTC PT test measures if the individual can run a mile and a half in 10 minutes, can do 68 push-ups in one minute, and can do 58 sit-ups in one minute. If the test is failed on the first attempt, ROTC allows two more attempts before deeming the applicant ineligible. If a participant passes the first test but fails a later test, then they must make it up or be cut.

According to Mission: Readiness, each year, the ranks lose 12,000 or more recruits that have been trained but have not completed their first enlistment because of weight issues. Furthermore, 48,000 recruits have failed their weight standards since 2005.

It is estimated that more than 300,000 members of the military have served three or more terms in Afghanistan and Iraq. This causes increased stress and trauma on those soldiers that must be deployed multiple times. The military needs more people to participate, but it is difficult to fill positions when applicants are too heavy and have to be turned away.

Despite the fact that Colorado is one of the more fit states in America, weight is still a factor in recruitment and soldier fitness.

“We have had a few cadets that have had to work very hard to pass the APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test) and meet height/weight standards and we seem to always have a few who continue to struggle with weight and physical performance,” said Bleich

One of America’s biggest opponents, obesity, is gaining momentum against the country’s military as well as its individuals. If America is to continue to have a powerful military, then it cannot afford to lose this battle at home.