The Military is Phat

A Jelly Donut, Pvt. Pyle?

I wasn't surprised to read that obesity in the military has doubled since 2003. The ugly confluence of a stressful ops tempo plus a willingness to dig a little deeper into the talent pool plus the time-honored tradition of comfort eating certainly set up our uniformed servicemembers for failure. Also, let's not forget the general public (which is growing more obese by the day) comprises our all-volunteer force.

Obesity in US military doubled since 2003

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Since the start of the Iraq War in 2003 the number of overweight and obese US military has doubled, in keeping with the national trend but also due to the stress of deployment, a Pentagon study said.
"In the past decade among active military members in general, the percent of military members who experienced medical encounters for overweight/obesity has steadily increased; and since 2003, rates of increase have generally accelerated," said the report published in January.
In 1998, the number of military personnel diagnosed overweight or obese stood at 25,652, or 1.6 percent of the entire armed forces. In 2003, it increased to 34,333 (2.1 percent), and from then to 2008 the number doubled to 68,786 (4.4 percent of the total).
A 2005 poll of the US military established that "stress and return from deployment were the most frequently cited reasons for recent weight gain," the report said. (link)

As I mentioned above, the military's loosened the standards for troops they're allowing in uniform. And the sad reality is that recruiting shortfalls often come with some ugly strings attached. I recognize and accept that some folks are just big-boned (we'll get to that in a second), but I really can't get over the fact that we'll allow lazy fat slobs (or non-high school graduate or convicted felon) to serve over loyal, patriotic men and women who don't want to have to hide homosexuality. So in an effort to fill our ranks, you can be undisciplined about your weight (or morality), but you can't be gay:

Study: Percentage of overweight recruits up
By Haya El Nasser - USA Today
Posted : Friday Mar 30, 2007 8:17:11 EDT
The pool of recruits fit enough to enlist is shrinking and troops’ waistlines are expanding, a reflection of the nation’s battle against obesity.

The percentage of 18-year-olds who applied for service in all branches of the military but were overweight rose from 27 percent to 32 percent from 1996 through 2005, according to a recent report by the Army. The share of applicants who were obese doubled from 3 percent to 6 percent.

“We’ve been concerned about this for awhile,” said Col. Gaston Bathalon, deputy commander at the Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine in Natick, Mass. The issue is magnified now because the Army is struggling to meet its recruitment goals at a time when its ranks are strained by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. (link)

You knew this was going to end up with an observation on the Air Force. Again, I'm bothered because my beloved service chooses to move with the tide of societal norms rather than enforcing a standard. I'm not a scientist/nutritionist/health and wellness specialist, but I can say with a good measure of certainty that having a 32-inch waist (male) or 29-inch waist (female) can only be a good thing, and worth striving for and serve as a terrific focal point for health and wellness goals. Here's an explanation of how the system currently works, and the complaints about the system by my man Michael Hoffman:

Scientists disagree on waist measure value
By Michael Hoffman - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Feb 11, 2009 3:57:47 EST
It doesn’t make sense at first glance. How can a 6-foot-5-inch, 49-year-old master sergeant be expected to have the same 32-inch waist as a 5-foot-5-inch, 18-year-old airman?

But that’s the one-size-fits-all standard for the abdominal circumference portion of the Air Force fitness test. Better known as the waist measurement, it determines up to 30 out of a possible 100 points on the physical training test. Airmen with more than a 32-inch waist — 29 for women — have to go through extra hoops if they hope to ace the PT Test. (link)

I fully recognize that some people have great genes (and bragged about acing the PT test, despite riding a bike and not running the 1.5 like a certain one-star we know and love, but I digress) and don't even need to diet to maintain a 32-inch waist. At the same time, I recognize that some folks were not blessed with a body that lends itself to getting to 32 inches. But sometimes life isn't fair (truth be told, military life rarely is fair). Sometimes, everyone doesn't get a trophy or win the spelling bee. Sometimes, you have to accept your limitations.

Our core value of Excellence in All We Do should govern that so long as you put forth an honest effort, not hitting 100 on the PT test is acceptable. It bakes my scrod that the whining element even has the opportunity to have their complaints heard in regard to the waist measurement debate. Too often, the Air Force allows the vocal minority has their day in court--you wonder why the Army and Marines like to bust our chops.

Update- A reader left a great comment (see below). I write "great" because someone actually took the time to read a post. That said, I agree with the reader to a point. I totally understand that in many ways, 32 inches is somewhat of random figure when the full spectrum of body types are considered.

Food for thought:I propose that beyond fitness, there should be some sort of metric to capture how well we wear the uniform. Ideally, I guess this would work were there a way to conduct an impartial eyeball test to gauge whether an Airman wears the uniform well in addition to the waist measurement.