America may become too fat to fight?

Soon, America will be too fat to fight. The scariest consequence about America’s losing battle with obesity, besides the rampant diabetes, heart attacks and joint problems, is the safety of our country. In about five years, so many young Americans will be so overweight that the military may be unable to recruit enough qualified soldiers. Military generals say that obesity is becoming a national security issue and must be stopped before it jeopardizes our country’s security. Of the 195,000 young men and women who signed up to fight for the United States, only 72,000 qualified. While many did not make the cut because of a criminal background or a lack of education, a full 10% of applicants did not qualify because they were so overweight. While the statistic of 10% of applicants being overweight is not a massive amount of people, the army is actually worried about the projections of how many more people are going to be overweight in the future.

The most troubling issue is that the trend is going in the wrong direction; more and more people in the United States become overweight as the years pass. The military projects that by the year 2020 that miniscule 10% could rise to as high as 50% of applicants. The problem is so worrisome for the military that recruiters have become fitness coaches for applicants just so they can make the cut. Our country has clearly lost its perspective on what’s normal when it comes to a healthy weight that it is becoming a problem of national security.

Sources:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/21/opinions/costello-america-fat/index.html