Obesity is now the leading reason for a potential army volunteer to be turned away from service.
Over 1,600 soldiers have been kicked out of the army this year alone due to being overweight.
Maybe it has something to do with the ban on fast food joints on military bases being lifted…
A pentagon spokesperson said:
“A healthy and fit force is essential to national security. Our service members must be physically prepared to deploy on a moment’s notice anywhere on the globe to extremely austere and demanding conditions.”
We’re not sure if people don’t realize exactly what they’ll be doing in the army or if they want to do service as a way to lose the weight.
But being in the military is serious business, and that’s why 75% of the civilians looking to join up were physically ineligible to join.
The leading cause?? Obesity!
The officer in charge of revamping the Army’s fitness programs said:
“Of the 25 percent that could join, what we found was 65 percent could not pass the [physical training] test on the first day. Young people joining our service could not run, jump, tumble or roll – the kind of things you would expect soldiers to do if you’re in combat.”
So even those who were slim enough to join still weren’t fit enough to serve.
That’s pretty bad, you guys.
We need to start a fitness revolution in this country!
[Image via Wikimedia Commons.]
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