Tag Archives: obesity

'Having it your way' could threaten nation's security

A recent report from a group of military leaders accuses America’s youth of being “too fat to fight” and calls the burgeoning numbers of overweight and obese people in the country a national security threat.

The “Mission: Readiness” report, issued by a group of retired military leaders, lists an alarming statistic: 27 percent of Americans ages 17 to 24 are too heavy to join the military.

Retired Maj. Gen. Paul D. Monroe of the U.S. Army testified at a hearing for the House Education and Labor Committee on June 29 in support of a bill to improve nutrition for America’s children.

“Today, it is obesity that threatens the overall health of America and the future strength of our military,” Monroe said. “It is imperative we act now to ensure our children grow up fit to defend the nation, if need be.”

Monroe’s testimony stated that the National School Lunch Act of 1946 was originally passed as a matter of national security, when the military discovered during World War II that at least 40 percent of rejected recruits were turned away on basis of poor nutrition. Now concerns seem to be heading the other way – kids are eating too much, not too little.

Recruiting has always been a challenge because of the stringent entrance standards, and issues with recruits’ weight make it harder, said Eileen Lainez, press official for the office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense.

Only 25 percent of American youth qualify for enlistment, Lainez said, and a third of the unqualified are cut because of medical reasons – mostly obesity-related.

GIven that some military officials are so bent on improving nutrition for America’s children before they get to the military, it may seem surprising that most military bases offer fast food restaurants like Burger King and McDonald’s.

Earlier this year, General Stanley McChrystal, the former top commander of troops in Afghanistan, banned fast food franchises on bases in Afghanistan, excluding coffee shop chains. The reason for the ban, however, were not due to a concern for troops’ health, but because of simple logistics: the restaurants were taking limited resources like water and electricity, said Jedd Anstey, public relations manager at Army and Air Force Exchange Service.

For bases that do still have fast food joints, including several in Iraq, the restaurants might not be the top choices for the soldiers, Anstey said, but not because of nutrition concerns.

“Chains like Burger King and Pizza Hut are supplemental,” Anstey said. “They’re probably don’t constitute the main source of a soldier’s dietary selection, because those things costs money, and the dining halls are free.”

Tagged fast food, military bases, National School Lunch Act of 1946, obesity

Obesity raised alarm among military retirees

“Child obesity, this issue is so serious that it has become a threat to our national security,” said Lt. Gen. Norman Seip, a member of Mission: Readiness, a nonprofit organization aiming at ensuring national security by heeding the young generation.

The group recently released a report “Too Fat to Fight,” showing that “weight problems have become the leading medical reason why recruits are rejected for service” and “More than 9 million young adults – 27 percent of all Americans age 17 to 24 – are too overweight to join the military.”

But isn’t the technology advancement playing a more and more important role in military? Why can an intelligent and technology-savvy young man get rejected just because of being overweight?

Mark McGinley, professor of Military Science at Carroll College, said although technical skills can be superb, physical strength should never be overlooked.

“Fitness is a critical component for military service,” McGinley said. “Put somebody in an austere environment and maybe a lot of heat and a lot of cold. Levels of fitness are going to have a dramatic impact on your productivity.”

Kirby Hanson, professor of Military Science at Missouri State University, is likely to agree.

“If you’re not physically fit the extreme measures or the extreme environmental conditions, which are currently on-going, [it] would definitely affect the way you perform your job,” Hanson said. “For example, temperate rises to about 130 degrees Fahrenheit plus in Iraq in the summer time. If you have a solider who is overweight and is suffering because of the heat due to his weight, he is not able to do his job no matter how technically savvy he might be in his chosen profession.”

Therefore, although the number of the turned-down is astonishing, there is no reason for the military to change the policy or lower the standard, Hanson added.

“It’s not really a question of rejection on the army’s part. It has to be the soon-to-be soldiers, you know, he or she doesn’t take military steps to lose weight,” he said.

And, that, to McGinley, is a bigger societal issue. While there are plenty programs to help “soon-to-be soldiers” get leaned and meet the military standards, as a parent, he said, he is worried about his children’s health and food nutrition.

At the same time, “Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a Generation,” a report on childhood obesity, was released on Tuesday, claiming that the childhood obesity epidemic is a “national health crisis” and has “life-threatening consequences.” The report is done by a White House task force, part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign, aiming to curb the obesity epidemic.

Tagged national security, obesity

Does obesity threaten our national security?

WASHINGTON — During Congressional hearings in 1945, concerns were voiced that nearly 40 percent of military recruits were turned away due to poor nutrition and health during World War II. Stunted growth from malnutrition kept many men from serving their country. This caused Army Gen. Lewis Hershey to delivery testimony that helped launch the National School Lunch Program in 1946, a campaign aimed at increasing the height and weight of young people. Today the U.S. military is grappling with the opposite problem.

A new study shows that 9 million, or 27 percent, of 17- to 24-year-olds in the United States are too overweight to serve in the military– a problem that is causing military leaders to take action.
The report released Tuesday by Mission: Readiness, a non-profit organization of more than 100 retired military leaders, highlights the challenges the military has in preparing the next generation of soldiers to serve. Since 1995, the proportion of recruits rejected during their physical exams because they are overweight has increased by 70 percent.

“It has been shown that for the first time in our history, the health of children today is worse than that of their parent,” said Brig. Gen. Clara Adams-Ender (Ret.) at a press conference. “To reverse this trend, something must be done now.”

But are they taking the right actions? Mission: Readiness is making strides at achieving its goal of overhauling school lunch programs to make them more healthful. But it seems there needs to be more emphasis placed on fitness programs as well.

In total, 75 percent of young Americans are unable to join the military and being overweight is the leading medical reason for rejection. Other disqualifiers include criminal records, drug use and lack of education.

“This is not just a national security issue, it is also an education issue, an educational performance issue and a health issue,” said Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at a press conference. “The reality of the fact that so many youngsters are not fit for military service is indeed a wake-up call for this country.”

The group came to Capitol Hill on April 19 to urge Vilsack, and Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., to beef up the Child Nutrition Act in the following ways:

Remove junk food and high-calorie beverages from U.S. schools.
Develop school programs to educate students and parents to adopt healthier life-long exercise and eating habits.
Support the administration’s proposal of an increase of $1 billion per year for 10 years for programs that would enhance nutrition standards, improve quality of of meals served in schools and enable more child to have access to these programs.

Not only does the military support these measures, but a 2010 national survey of 1,001 American adults showed that 83 percent support expanding the act to “provide healthier food and cover more kids,” according to the Child Nutrition Initiative.

“It’s a sad irony that while we work to address hunger and food insecurity among nearly 20 percent of our overall population, nearly one-third of our children are overweight or obese,” said Lugar.

A Senate committee passed child nutrition legislation earlier this year. Lugar said that it makes “great strides” in addressing obesity by getting junk food out of schools and improving the quality of meals.
“It’s imperative that we get a robust bill through the Congress this year,” Vilsack said.

This is true. But some experts say that Mission: Readiness and Congress need to place much more emphasis on fitness programs as well. Today, kids are not moving enough.

A report released by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed that over the past five years the amount of time the average 8- to 18-year-old spent consuming media—including laying around watching TV or surfing the web, has increased dramatically. It is up by 1 hour, 17 minutes a day — from 6 hours, 21 minutes in 2004 to 7 hours, 38 minutes in 2009.

That’s more than 53 hours a week.

Susan Ellis, a registered dietician at the Clinical Nutrition Center in Denver, said that child nutrition is definitely a problem, but the biggest issue in regards to child obesity is the lack of physical fitness.
“Kids are not active enough today,” Ellis said. “There is not hardy physical education in the schools anymore and this is the biggest concern.”

Mission: Readiness and other advocates need to push Congress to ensure that children are getting enough exercise at school. Or, perhaps the military could step up their recruiting programs to include weight-loss camps for those who are obese.

“We do have some programs when people show up. If they are overweight, but not over the obesity limit, recruiters can work with them,” said Rear Adm. James A. Barnett Jr. (Ret.) But if they are considered obese, it could take months of intense physical activity and dieting for someone to get back to a normal weight, according to Ellis. There is not one formula that would work for everyone either.
And unfortunately, the military cannot pay to provide weight-loss camps for everyone who is over the limit.

“Whenever they come, we do tell them what is necessary in order to get fit,” said Brig. Gen. Clara Adams-Ender (Ret.). “But you must understand, we can’t afford to run another program because that is not part of our mission.”

Tagged Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, military, national security, obesity, recruiting, Sen. Richard Lugar