Thread: US youngsters are too fat to fight, warn generals

Former generals want Congress to act to give children better food in schools

Rising rates of obesity among young Americans could undermine the future of the US military, two retired generals have warned.
More than a quarter of young Americans are now too fat to fight, they said.
Writing in the Washington Post, the ex-commanders said the fat crisis ruled out more potential military service recruits than any other medical factor.
They want Congress to introduce laws to give US children better nutrition in schools, with less sugar, salt and fat.
John Shalikashvili and Hugh Shelton, both former chairmen of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote: "Obesity rates threaten the overall health of America and the future strength of our military."
"We consider this problem so serious from a national security perspective that we have joined more than 130 other retired generals, admirals and senior military leaders in calling on Congress to pass new child nutrition legislation," the commanders added.
The warning comes amid mounting fears that childhood obesity has turned into an "epidemic" affecting an astonishing one in three young American people.



BBC News - US youngsters are too fat to fight, warn generals

Some good news for the world the Americans are going to be too fat to fight..defeated by greed..talk about Karma..

Seems pretty sad. I think the generals were overstating the facts just a bit.

It's not as bad as these activist Generals make it out to be.

Besides, there is a very simple solution:

Admit these fat kids into the Armed Services. Our forces are voluntary and if these fatties want to join, they must attend a Fatty Boot Camp. There, they would be put on a strict diet, an extensive exercise program and have a goal to reach...or they would be sent packing back home as failures.

The ones who succeed will have learned lessons about self discipline and perseverance that will make them better members of their branch of service.

The cost could be recouped by the savings in Medicare that will result from the addition of these health conscious members into our society.

Facts always trump conjecture.

http://cdn.missionreadiness.org/MR_T...to_Fight-1.pdf
Mission: Readiness, an organization of retired senior military leaders, is warning Congress that at least nine million 17- to 24-year-olds in the United States are too fat to serve in the military. That is 27 percent of all young adults. Obesity rates among children and young adults have increased so dramatically that they threaten not only the overall health of America but also the future strength of our military.

Over a ten-year period, the number of states with 40 percent or more of their young adults who were overweight or obese went from 1 to 39

Clearly, improving nutrition is crucial for tackling this problem. To reverse this epidemic of childhood and adult obesity will take a concerted effort by individuals, the private sector and various governmental and non-governmental agencies. If it were easy, more Americans would quickly become slim and stay slim, yet even in the military that does not always happen. Although the fundamental solution could not be simpler—take in fewer calories and burn off more calories through exercise—creating the right conditions to move a whole society to become more fit is a national challenge.

Reviewing the report, it looks like they have a valid argument not only for the military, but for the health of the nation as a whole. In the entire heath care debate, did anyone here take note that preventative medicine is cheaper than curative medicine? Obesity is a severe health issue and it is only getting worse.

Some good news for the world the Americans are going to be too fat to fight..defeated by greed..talk about Karma..

greed? :laugh:

kids are over weight because of their parents. poor food choices and NO exercise. when i was a kid, there were like 2-3 kids out of well over 20 in my part of the neighborhood that would considered fat, everyone else wasn't. we played outside instead of sitting on the couch watching TV all the time or playing video games.

mtm1963

Originally Posted by AgentM

Even for older people, outside of looking good for potential dates, society discourages people from exercising these days. Especially in America with it's car culture and all the drive-throughs (and other things that have already been mentioned). You guys ever hear of walking somewhere?

so how are the kids in canada doing?

mtm1963

Originally Posted by mtm1963

so how are the kids in canada doing?

mtm1963

Regardless if 100% were overweight or 0% were overweight, how does that solve our problem?