Largescale RAND study of military--2/3rds are fat

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johndoe3
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Largescale RAND study of military--2/3rds are fat

Post by johndoe3 »

https://www.militarytimes.com/off-duty/ ... port-says/

RAND was engaged for a study of all 4 military services to randomly determine the state of fitness--sample size was 18,000 selected randomly. Therefore, no one can accuse them of using a small sample size.
The study, featuring roughly 18,000 randomly selected participants across each of the service branches, showed that almost 66 percent of service members are considered to be either overweight or obese, based on the military’s use of body mass index as a measuring standard.

While the number of overweight service members is a cause for concern, it correlates with the obesity epidemic plaguing the United States, where, as of 2015, one in three young adults are considered too fat to enlist, creating a difficult environment for recruiters to find suitable candidates for military service.

Broken down by service, the 2018 report lists the Army as the branch accounting for the highest percentage of overweight troops, with 69.4 percent of soldiers falling under this category.

The Army was followed by the Coast Guard (67.8 percent), Navy (64.6 percent), Air Force (63.1 percent) and Marine Corps (60.9 percent).
The services need to do a better job of diet counseling and to encourage sedentary military members to engage in a moderate amount of exercise every week. The exact same advice works also for all non-military (diet and exercise).
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Re: Largescale RAND study of military--2/3rds are fat

Post by Capt. Link. »

I can only speak for the Navy as not caring for their members health.I served six years and took two fitness tests,including one in boot camp.Everyday can be like running a obstacle course.Up & down ladders crawling through the engine room,moving very heavy equipment in confined spaces and running like the wind while dodging shipmates during drill's & emergency's.With all that activity for the junior grades that leaves little or nothing for the NCO and up.The food was starchy and fat filled and we had zero organized athletic activities.With all the knowledge of ship life the Navy has chosen to replace the fitness test with riding a stationary bicycle.That should keep the heart attacks to a minimum!!! Trust me not having chief petty officers and officers participate in everyday physical labor is a major mistake if a emergency happens and they can't perform the work necessary to keep the ship afloat.
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Striker753
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Re: Largescale RAND study of military--2/3rds are fat

Post by Striker753 »

On the other hand, I've heard from Marines that it's the other way around; they're doing one hell of a lot of physical activity, which leads them to eat like excavators at every meal, which is harmful once they reach their EAS and go back to civilian life, as they keep eating like at the barracks, only to notice that they burn 2500 calories less per day after the thirtieth extra pound!
But on the other hand, some people I know have been categorised as "overweight" despite having not enough fat on their bodies to grease two doors: they're gym rats and have built up so much mass that it's too much for their size, which results in an excessively high BMI!
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Re: Largescale RAND study of military--2/3rds are fat

Post by silencertalk »

https://www.livestrong.com/article/3595 ... uirements/

Some branches use bodyfat percent or have waivers for high BMI if low on fat.
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Re: Largescale RAND study of military--2/3rds are fat

Post by poikilotrm »

Color me skeptical.

When I was but a wee infantryman, my BMI said I was obese. I was built like a gorilla, and had the manners of one. Not a lot of fat, but a lot of muscle. They sent me to the fat boy clinic. I took off my shirt for the lady, she grunted,shook her head, and I was out the door.

It really bummed out my squad leader, Airborne Ben Vallejo. But F--k that guy, and that's another story.
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