US Military Facing Epidemic of ‘Skinny Fat’ Recruits
The U.S. military has always observed physical fitness standards, but in recent years, officials have been increasingly concerned by the rise in so-called “skinny-fat” recruits.
Dr. Karl E. Friedl, a senior research scientist for the Army, told the Washington Street Journal that the Army in particular is facing an onslaught of what he called “skinny-fat” service members who appear physically fit but have low muscle mass and bone density.
“These people don’t look out of shape but, indeed, are because of sedentary lifestyles that have left them with low muscle mass and frail bones and connective tissue,” the Washington Street Journal reported. “At Ft. Moore in Georgia, new soldiers are given calcium supplements to counter a recent uptick in broken feet and bones in the legs, according to several senior soldiers in charge of training.”
Several individuals online have commented on the embarrassing nature of the report, noting that military members are meant to be the strongest and most physically fit members of the nation to act as a natural deterrent against foreign conflict.
Currently, each branch of the military has a set of physical fitness standards that members must meet, these test strength, speed, agility, endurance, and muscle stamina, though each branch varies slightly on how the tests are conducted. Historically, when service members are on the heavier side, they are given an additional test: the measuring “tape test.”
“The tape test measures waist circumference and is typically used in conjunction with height to determine a service member’s body mass index (BMI), which is a measure of a person’s excess weight,” the Daily Caller explained. Standard BMI measurements however may not provide an encompassing view of an individual’s physical readiness, and as “skinny-fat” service members increase in number, officials have considered alternative means of measuring fitness.
According to the Daily Mail, a high percentage of service members are either too overweight or too weak to serve in the military. Members who qualify are placed on a specialized fitness routine to lose the excess weight or gain muscle mass and strength. Additionally, the CDC found that one-third of Americans aged 17-24 are too heavy to serve in our military.
Due to these circumstances, the Pentagon decided to implement full-body scans, “in a futuristic machine called the ‘Bod Pod’ which calculates fat levels” according to the Daily Mail.
TPUSA recently reported that just 43 of the 8,000 healthy and physically equipped service members who were discharged due to their refusal to take the COVID-19 vaccine have rejoined the military since their dismissal. This has left the branches to scramble to find new recruits while grappling with the falling fitness standards of current members.
