Soldiers undergo a standard tape test at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, October 2021. (Lilliana Fraser/US Army)
Soldiers who score high enough on the Army’s fitness test will be exempt from the body fat standard under a new policy that will take effect soon. Army Major Michael Grinston made the announcement on Thursday.
Service officials believe these exemptions will bring the Army’s body fat measurement method’s error rate to near zero.
Body fat is only measured in soldiers who do not meet Service weight standards for age and gender. The Army has not disclosed how many of its roughly 1 million active-duty National Guard and reservists fall short each year.
The policy change also came from body composition research, which recommended the service simplify the tape measure method for calculating body fat in soldiers who exceed weight requirements. A second recommendation is for soldiers to be able to calculate body fat with biometric screening on an approved device if they fail after tape testing.These two recommendations are still from the Army. approval is pending, Grinston said.
“There’s a lot of excitement about this inside the military,” he said in a call with reporters on Wednesday.
A soldier undergoes a bioelectrical impedance analysis scan in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, October 2021. (Lilliana Fraser/US Army)
Under the new policy, soldiers who score 540 or higher on the Army Combat Fitness Test and score a minimum of 80 points in each of the six events are not required to take a body fat test if they do not meet the weight requirement. This exemption is only valid for up to 8 months for active duty soldiers and up to 14 months for National Guard and Reservists.
The passing score for the aptitude test is 360 and the perfect score is 600. He, one of the leaders, said his 540 score in the study was due to the soldiers’ body fat, performance and risk of injury because healthy soldiers reach that score. said Holly McClung of Army body composition researcher.
Since the Army implemented a new fitness test in October, 240,377 active-duty soldiers have achieved passing scores, according to the service. Of those, 23% met the new criteria for exemption.
The test was first introduced in 2019, but implementation has been delayed for years. This is because research has found that women and members of the Royal Guard and Reserves are undervalued. Intended to simulate the physicality of combat, her six events in the test are deadlifts, standing power throws, hand-release pushups, sprint drag carries, planks, and two-mile runs.
After hearing concerns from soldiers about the accuracy of the Army’s method for measuring body fat in overweight soldiers, Grinston asked the Army Institute of Environmental Medicine to conduct a study on body composition. ‘s last study was 23 years ago, he said.
The current tape test method, which was found to be correct approximately 65% of the time in this study, involves measuring the abdomen and neck in men and the hips, hips, and neck in women, and calculating a specific formula. Soldiers told Grinston that their measurements were not always taken at the proper position on the body, he said.
But almost all inaccuracies favored soldiers, according to a study that collected data on 2,690 soldiers from late 2021. Conversely, about 1% of men and about 5% of women were overweight on the tape test when they should not have been overweight. Failure to meet weight requirements may impact a soldier’s career path or lead to discharge.
Women make up about 16 percent of the army, the service said.
Grinston, who retires in August, hopes two other suggestions from the research will be incorporated into policy before he leaves the Army. and woman equalizing tape test. It also simplifies the formulas used to calculate body fat.
“Looking inside from the outside, [they] appear [they’re] They will be treated the same way,” said Grinston. “From a leadership standpoint, it’s going to be a lot easier.”
A second proposal would allow soldiers to have their body fat calculated using an approved biometric screening machine at government facilities if they fail the tape test. is allowed.
The only currently approved method for verifying a failed tape test is another tape test.
Army Sergeant Aug. 15, 2022 As part of the U.S. Army Commando Best Squad Competition in Fort Hood, Texas, Fort Campbell, Kentucky-based 1st Grade Brandon Rodriguez rides a sled during an Army Combat Fitness Test. pulling. (Dylan Bailey/U.S. Army)
Approved machines include dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), the In Body 770 bioelectrical impedance analysis machine, and the BOD POD, an air displacement plethysmograph.
The study also reviewed height, weight, and age tables and found them to be 90% accurate in screening overweight soldiers. Grinston said the Army decided not to make any changes to these tables.
Last year, the Department of Defense updated its policy on body composition standards, giving each service more freedom to tailor weight and body fat requirements to suit their service and mission. The Air Force adopted a similar tape test. However, the Marine Corps has discontinued it entirely. It also waives the weight requirement for Marines who have achieved a sufficient fitness test score.
The Navy announced last month that it would remove past fitness test failures from its sailors’ records as the service tried to keep personnel.During the coronavirus pandemic, the Navy has moved to annual fitness testing .
Grinston said the Army is a much larger force, so it would not be practical to implement a body scanning policy similar to that of the Marine Corps. would be difficult.
“We did our due diligence, but we didn’t rush it,” Grinston said. “We want to get it right, and we want soldier feedback as well.”
