Number Of Overweight Or Obese Military Personnel Doubles Since 2003, Pentagon Says - USA Today

[hatrack]

WASHINGTON — The number of troops diagnosed as overweight or obese has more than doubled since the start of the Iraq war, yet another example of stress and strains of continuing combat deployments, according to a recent Pentagon study.

The review, contained in the January edition of the Defense Department's Medical Surveillance Monthly Report, raises concerns about the overall readiness as demands on the military continue to increase, says Dr. Michael Kilpatrick, director of strategic communication for Pentagon health affairs. "Stress and return from deployment were the most frequently cited reasons" for gaining weight, the study said. The largest increase in diagnoses of overweight and obese troops came in the last five years, the report said.

From 1998 to 2002, the number of servicemembers diagnosed as overweight remained steady at about one or two out of 100. But those numbers increased after 2003, according to the study, and today nearly one in 20 are diagnosed as clinically overweight.

There may be even more overweight troops than the report shows, Kilpatrick said, because the study includes only servicemembers diagnosed as overweight during a visit with a doctor. The actual percentage of troops who are found to be overweight during fitness trials could be higher, he said.

EDIT

http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2009-02-09-obesity_N.htm

[atreides1]

1. A way to get out

Eventually Army Regulations win out over even "Stop Loss".

[MADem]

3. I wouldn't be surprised if DOD has waived the requirements for operational exigencies.

They may have even delegated the authority down to the field--how else could there be so many Chub Clubbers? I'm guessing not all of them decided to pig out at the same time...and a huge increase in numbers means they are blowing off the program in many locations. I seem to recall that being deployed used to be an excuse--not sure if that flies anymore.


What being in the "overweight" or "obese" category does do for service personnel, though, is prevent promotion, military education, and other benefits.

[MADem]

2. That's because they've been gundecking the PT tests for so long.

When they want to draw down the military, they'll use the "Three Fats and You're OUT" rule, that they've been ignoring while they need bodies. If that doesn't brutally shove enough people out the door, they've tighten up the Up Or Out requirements and make the promotion tests so hard that very few can pass them.

The PT test was made mandatory for all personnel (it used to be that you hit fifty and were FREE!) as a "force shaping" excercise, to get rid of older hangers-on so that the promotion logjams could be loosened. Some services were forced to make theirs more difficult, as well--I remember the USAF used to have a test that was so easy, that people taking it would SMOKE while they were doing it (it involved a long walk for forty minutes or something). That was years ago, when people still smoked in their offices!

[Captain Hilts]

4. Dad's only fitness test was jumping to conclusions. He smoked 3 packs a day as sub skipper.

That was the 60s. No fitness tests.

[MADem]

5. ....!!!!....

:rofl:

When I signed up, they didn't have 'em. They came along awhile later, so I got to enjoy the full measure of them over the decades--from "Oh, just pretend you did it," to Storm Trooper PT Nazis! I suspect the pendulum has swung a bit since I retired!

To smoke on subs now, you've got to go hide in a little closet in engineering! It's the best place to go for information and command gossip, though--you'll always find someone in there.

[Captain Hilts]

6. I just heard about a sub skipper that banned doughnuts...

And they're going to get rid of the deep fryers.

On long cruises, guys bring their own cases of coke. If there's an empty torpedo tube, you can store them in there to keep them cool.

[MADem]

7. What a jerk!!! Nothing better than homemade donuts! Now the poor cook will

have to make them in a fry pan, and risk spilling the cooking oil!!!!

Jeez, next thing ya know, they'll outlaw pizza.

About the only thing that breaks up the monotony is the chow!

[Captain Hilts]

8. He outlawed pizza. Really.

How this guy got to be a sub skipper is beyond me.

A Sweet Young Thing had the deck watch in Norfolk. His skipper had banned the delivery of fresh doughnuts. Well, the boat next door gets them. One day when the boat across the pier was out, the doughnuts arrived and the delivery driver offers a batch of fresh, FREE doughnuts to the kid with the deck watch. He says, "Sure!" The skipper really gave him the red ass, but he earned big points with the crew.

[MADem]

11. Sub skippers come in a couple of flavors.

Outstanding, excellent, and pretty good are the majority. It is, after all, a real attention to detail job, and owing to the small size of the crews (tinier than some divisions on birdfarms) there's close interaction between all hands. You've gotta have people skills. You've also got to be decisive. Even as an 0-5, you "enjoy" more of the whole "personnel process" than a SWO would get as a LT in some divisions. It's simply a consequence of being part of an intimately sized crew. A lot of skippers don't even sign evals, and delegate JO fitreps--on a sub, everyone gets the captain's autograph.

Then there's the types who can only be categorized as "Who was his daddy? How in hell'd he get this job?" and "Lousy miserable jerk" and "That dude is just .... weird." I've met a few of those. They never make it to the boomers.

When they're good, though, they're usually very good.

[Captain Hilts]

9. I was always kind of surprised by how overweight military med folks appeared at Bethesda Naval. nt

[MADem]

12. There was the case of the Big Fat Doctor, years ago!!

This one was kinda funny, actually.

The doc was massive, but he had one of those coveted specialities--thoracic surgeon, or some fancy ability that was hard to come by. He'd been flunking the PT test and BF requirements for a couple of years, but he always managed to get a waiver or something--in any event, he saw no consequences. Then, finally, it caught up with him, and he was forced into the Fat Boy program, where he performed, well, poorly. He was fine with getting out and going to civilian life, but he still had time on his obligation, so the personnel types, with a disbursing assist, were trying to strip the guy of his "speciality" dough (the massive amounts of cash that doctors get in addition to their salaries) because he was too chunky. He said "Fuck you, I'll put down the scalpel if I don't get paid to cut." Then, they tried to hold up his PCS, but the place he was going REALLY needed him and they had a senior flag in the food chain who squawked and broke up that logjam. He ended up, IIRC, serving out his time as a chunky fellow, unrepentant, unapologetic.

He was, apparently, a damn good slicer and dicer, and that was during a period when the NNMC was going through a bit of crisis and had a couple of "issues" when it came to care. The truth of the matter is, if they need you, and you're a rare bird, they WILL look the other way.

Bethesda has changed mightily in the past few decades--they're divvying up the work with Walter Reed and WRAMC is "lead dog" in most evolutions. Of course, they're planning on moving Walter Reed over to Bethesda, building a whole new hospital on those grounds, so it's going to be a big ass complex eventually if they continue on with those plans. I hope they get smart with the parking--parking at WRAMC isn't bad, only there isn't enough. It is underground, which was pretty cool--you could go from your car to your appointment and not get wet. At Bethesda, they had the big huge parking buildings--and never enough parking there, either!

[Javaman]

10. Private Gomer Pyle: Sir, a jelly doughnut, sir!

Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: A jelly doughnut?
Private Gomer Pyle: Sir, yes, sir!
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: How did it get here?
Private Gomer Pyle: Sir, I took it from the mess hall, sir!
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Is chow allowed in the barracks, Private Pyle?
Private Gomer Pyle: Sir, no, sir!
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Are you allowed to eat jelly doughnuts, Private Pyle?
Private Gomer Pyle: Sir, no, sir!
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: And why not, Private Pyle?
Private Gomer Pyle: Sir, because I'm too heavy, sir!
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Because you are a disgusting fat body, Private Pyle!
Private Gomer Pyle: Sir, yes, sir!
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Then why did you try to sneak a jelly doughnut in your foot locker, Private Pyle?
Private Gomer Pyle: Sir, because I was hungry, sir!
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Because you were hungry...

Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Private Pyle has dishonored himself and dishonored the platoon. I have tried to help him. But I have failed. I have failed because YOU have not helped me. YOU people, have not given Private Pyle the proper motivation! So, from now on, whenever Private Pyle fucks up, I will not punish him! I will punish all of YOU! And the way I see it ladies, you owe me for ONE JELLY DOUGHNUT! NOW, GET DOWN ON YOUR FACES!

Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Open your mouth!

Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: They're payin' for it; YOU eat it! Ready! Exercise!

[Kolesar]

13. Time for a blanket party.