So much for the great W army that is "ready" for war....as long as they eat burgers and fries......
World News
November 18, 2002
US troops are losing battle of the
bulge
From Chris Ayres in Los Angeles
AS AMERICAN troops prepare for war in Iraq a report is about
to reveal that more than half of them are overweight.
A panel of nine medical experts commissioned by the Pentagon
is expected to say that 53.9 per cent of US military personnel
over the age of 20 would be classified as too fat to fight under
federal obesity standards.
A fifth of those aged under 20 would also fail the fat test, The
Times has learnt. Iraq may not have such sophisticated
weapons, but its soldiers at least fit their uniforms better.
Admitting such flabbiness would be embarrassing and costly
for the Pentagon, which would have to take remedial measures
and discharge the incurably fat.
A Pentagon document seen by The Times says: “If at some
future time (the federal guidelines are adopted), the impact will
be to shift a sizeable group of personnel from a category of
meeting weight standards to a category of being overweight.
“Such a change would have negative implications for
perceptions of readiness of the forces.”
The panellists are, however, expected to provide a loophole,
recommending that the Armed Forces ignore the federal
standards and continue to use their own, more flexible,
guidelines.
Federal guidelines classify an individual as overweight if they
have a body mass index (BMI) of more than 25, regardless of
age or gender. A BMI is calculated by dividing weight in
kilograms by height in metres squared. Someone 5ft 11in and
weighing 180lb (1.8m and 81.6kg), for example, has a BMI of
just over 25.
Under the military standards it is possible to have a BMI of more
than 27 and still be considered in good enough shape to sweat
out a battle in the Iraqi desert. As a result, official military health
statistics show that only about a fifth of military personnel –
regardless of age – are overweight.
“The difficulty in where to draw the line probably suggests that
we ought to use a more complex evaluation system,
incorporating age, gender, fitness and, possibly, occupation,”
Arthur Frank, a medical director at George Washington
University and one of the panellists, said.
“The military, of course, has standards for appearances: you
don’t want a bunch of fat guys marching in your parade. But
how critical is it? It is of significance, but in critical terms, that
significance is marginal.”
The military is worried about attracting and keeping recruits
from an increasingly overweight population: according to the
US Surgeon- General, more than 60 per cent of Americans are
overweight or obese.
A successful method used to recruit teenagers is to allow
fast-food chains such as McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried
Chicken to operate restaurants on bases. Mess food is no
longer obligatory.
Barbara Hansen, a panellist and a director of the Obesity and
Diabetes Research Centre at Maryland University, said:
“There’s no doubt that some functions and roles may be
incompatible with excess fatness. But those are probably less
than half of the current military force.” |
