- The Air Force is allowing recruits to have higher body fat percentages to expand its recruiting pool as it struggles to find new members
- Male recruits have 26% body fat and females 36%.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that youth obesity in America “impacts national security.”
As the Air Force struggles to find new members, it allows recruits to have higher body fat percentages in order to “widen the pool” of Americans they can call upon to serve. increase.
Male recruits can now increase their body fat percentage from 20% to 26% and females from 28% to 36%.
But high body fat percentages can increase your risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other health conditions, according to medical experts, and the suggested percentage points reach “dangerously high” levels.
Leslie Brown, spokeswoman for the Air Force Recruiting Service, said she hoped the change would encourage more people to participate, but would still be expected to meet the same fitness standards. increase.
“The Air Force aims to open the door for a wider range of young Americans to qualify to serve in the Air Force. told fox news.
“Recruits will be allowed to enter with higher body fat percentages but will still be expected to meet the same fitness standards as everyone else in order to remain in service. It means meeting the waist-to-height ratio requirements announced in January and implemented this month.
The military service department is expected to miss its “active duty” recruitment target by 10% this year after dipping into the pool of late-entrant applicants to meet last year’s target.
Brown said the new standards are one of several initiatives to increase the pool of candidates without “lowering the standards.”
“We’re recruiting today’s generation, not my generation, who joined more than 30 years ago, where tattoos may have been taboo but are now social norms,” she said. told the news.
“Alternatively, if young people are leading a more sedentary lifestyle than before, we will recruit those recruits and promote physical fitness and overall healthy living decisions into their daily lives as airmen. can.”
of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said obesity is a scourge for America’s youth and “impacts national security.”
One in three young people between the ages of 17 and 24 is said to be too overweight for military service.
“Only three in four young adults meeting weight requirements report levels of physical activity that prepare them for basic training challenges,” the report states.
As a result, only 2 in 5 young adults are weight-matched and fully active. According to the latest statistics for 2018, 71% of young people could not enlist even if they wanted to.
Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Mark Hartling said: Failure to address these issues now will impact national security in the future.
The Department of Defense (DOD) spends approximately $1.5 billion annually on obesity-related medical costs for current and former military personnel and their families, as well as costs to replace ineligible personnel.
Overweight and obesity in active duty service members lose 658,000 workdays annually, costing the DOD $103 million annually.
new research from world health organization found that obesity in the US military surged during the pandemic. In the Army alone, about 10,000 active duty soldiers developed obesity between February 2019 and June 2021. The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps also saw increases.
Koehlmoos said the latest data won’t be available until later this year. But the trend shows no signs of ending, highlighting long-standing concerns about the readiness of U.S. combat forces.
Military leaders have warned for more than a decade about the impact of obesity on the U.S. military, but the lingering effects of the pandemic highlight the need for urgent action, says former Marine Brigadier General Stephen Cheney. Stated. Recent reports about the problem.
“The numbers aren’t getting better,” Cheney said at a webinar held in November by the American Security Project, a nonprofit think tank. “They are getting worse and worse.”
In Fiscal Year 2022, the Army missed its recruitment goal for the first time, falling short of 15,000 recruits, or a quarter of the requirement.
The main reason is that three-quarters of Americans between the ages of 17 and 24 are ineligible for military service for several reasons, including excess weight. Overweight is the number one disqualifying factor for an individual, affecting more than one of her 10 candidates for employment.
Brown told Fox News that up to 100 recruits are eligible to join the Air Force each month.
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a rough estimate of your body fat percentage. Useful as a rough guide. There are limitations, such as people with a lot of muscle mass may have a high BMI even if they don’t have a lot of body fat.
Accurate measurement of body fat is essential for assessing health risks.
Newly proposed percentages exceed “dangerously high” levels for men and women. medical news today.
36% of women between the ages of 20 and 69 have reached dangerous levels, and 26% of men between the ages of 20 and 39 have reached dangerous levels.
