As you can read on my website and here on my blog, I am currently training to enlist in the Army National Guard. The National Guard uses the same standards for enlistment as the US Army does. Among other qualifications there is a body fat % requirement. I offer a body fat % calculator on my website http://patrickmccoyonline.com/fitness if you're interested in seeing where you stand.
http://www.nationalguard.com/careers/become-a-soldier/height-and-weight-requirements tells you that the average male entering the Guard must have 26% maximum body fat and a female to have 32% Both these numbers are at the high end of overweight, and for men is considered obese. At my age at almost 32 years old, I can have 28% body fat. I'm about that now, techincally I can enlist, though I have more training to make the push up and running qualifications. However I am still in the obese category.
Getting back to the topic Too Fat to Fight, BBC News put out an article http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8655651.stm the Headline: US youngsters are too fat to fight, warn generals. John Shalikashvili and Hugh Shelton, both former chairmen of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote: "Obesity rates threaten the overall health of America and the future strength of our military." They say more than a quarter of young americans are too fat to fight. Given the qualifications of the army enlistment for men are already allowing obese men to enlist. Females are still required not to be obese, but given obesity for women is 33%, these generals are not painting a pretty picture for the future of america.
I applaud and support these generals who have joined forces with 130 other retired or senior armed forces members to take action against the growing epidemic of childhood obesity. They are calling on congress to pass legislation to turn back the tide of childhood obesity.
http://www.nationalguard.com/careers/become-a-soldier/height-and-weight-requirements tells you that the average male entering the Guard must have 26% maximum body fat and a female to have 32% Both these numbers are at the high end of overweight, and for men is considered obese. At my age at almost 32 years old, I can have 28% body fat. I'm about that now, techincally I can enlist, though I have more training to make the push up and running qualifications. However I am still in the obese category.
Getting back to the topic Too Fat to Fight, BBC News put out an article http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8655651.stm the Headline: US youngsters are too fat to fight, warn generals. John Shalikashvili and Hugh Shelton, both former chairmen of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote: "Obesity rates threaten the overall health of America and the future strength of our military." They say more than a quarter of young americans are too fat to fight. Given the qualifications of the army enlistment for men are already allowing obese men to enlist. Females are still required not to be obese, but given obesity for women is 33%, these generals are not painting a pretty picture for the future of america.
I applaud and support these generals who have joined forces with 130 other retired or senior armed forces members to take action against the growing epidemic of childhood obesity. They are calling on congress to pass legislation to turn back the tide of childhood obesity.
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