Obesity Rates Threaten U.S. Military Readiness, Recruitment Efforts

High rates of obesity in the United States is threatening the readiness of the U.S. military and recruitment efforts. But the Physical Activity Alliance (PAA) has set forth six strategies on how to combat the problem.

The percentage of eligible recruits who exceed the military’s percent body fat standards has doubled for men and tripled for women since 1960, according to an article in Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, published by Elsevier.

In addition, only two in five young adults are both weight-eligible and adequately physically active for the challenges of basic training, according to the PAA.

"This is a complex problem that has a deep impact on national security by limiting the number of available recruits, decreasing re-enlistment candidacy, and potentially reducing mission readiness," said Sara Police, PhD, Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, Kentucky. She is a corresponding author of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior article. "Additional, relevant issues include the changing demographics of the military and food insecurity among military families."

Just this week, Gen. Joseph M. Martin, the Army’s vice chief of staff, testified to a House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness that the regular Army likely won’t hit its staffing target in fiscal 2022, instead falling almost 19,000 soldiers short, and it could fall 18,000 short in fiscal 2023.

Increased obesity rates are not the only reason for this shortfall. Other reasons include higher rates of drug use or criminal records. Plus, only 13 percent of people in the targeted population for recruitment have a parent who served in the military, which is a decrease from 40 percent in 1995, according to an NBC News report. Many parents also encourage their children to go to college rather than join the military.

But when it comes to the obesity problem, today’s recruits include a higher percentage of women and varying racial/ethnic groups, many of which experience a higher rate of obesity and higher rates of food insecurity, according to the article.

The decreased number of physically fit in the recruitment population has prompted military leaders to call for changes in nutritional and dietary patterns, including initiatives in schools to remove less healthful food options and increase the use of free and reduced-cost lunch programs. Another solution could be nutrition education within the armed services themselves.

"Drill sergeants are essential and important leaders in the armed forces for coaching, counseling, mentoring, and training new soldiers," Police said.

Accurate nutrition information and behavior modeling from drill sergeants, commanding officers and non-commissioned officers could strongly influence recruits.

The PAA released this month a U.S. National Physical Activity Plan (NPAP) focused on the military sector. The military sector will become the 10th sector of the NPAP.

The NPAP includes six strategies to combat the obesity problem. It starts with changes at the leadership level to transform the system to enhance and monitor physical activity and fitness. In addition, the military should invest in education about physical activity using a team-based approach. The military also should implement surveillance systems that will help to monitor physical activity and injuries from physical activity.

Another strategy is to invest more heavily in existing physical activity training programs and consider new programs that are delivered by credentialed and qualified professionals.

Partnerships will also be important to help implement programs that will enhance physical activity at military bases.

And lastly, the military should develop multimedia campaigns to educate those in the military as well as veterans and civilian employee of the Department of Defense about physical activity being a part of holistic health and performance.