Too fat to fight: Pentagon grapples with obesity epidemic

Where did he say federal government?

 

Neighbors!

Except by the time I went through OSUT they moved to new bays on sand hill. The old 1/50 area I believe has been re-purposed. I could be wrong though, that might have happened even before you went through. They added new bays on top of the "LZ" on sand hill. So that was fun to climb every day.

 

Obesity is good business. The first step is removing all subsidies for the products that make people fat and sick. There was talk about not allowing food stamps, SNAP, EBT benefits to be used for unhealthy products. PepsiCo lobbied against it. 10% of the money used to feed the less fortunate is spent on sweetened beverages.

Tax payers are forced to pay for making people sick, then forced to keep them sick once they get on pharm products. Maybe not having enough healthy people to recruit into the military will start to turn things around.

 

You couldn't do that today. Their feelingz might be hurtz.

 

The teaching and resources are pretty consistent across all public high schools in any given state or nation, but the parents are certainly not.

 

They're public, so they have to maintain a certain standard and uniformity. It's the private schools (which aren't answerable to the taxpayer and voter) that differ in quality.

 

No it's not about that, at all. It's about having the maturity to understand that poor choices lead to poor consequences, and accepting that others will insist on making poor choices no matter what we do or say.

 

Provide proof.

 

When I was there, we were right next to ITB, a little bit down the hill and across from 2/58. There was a little shopette and a gym behind 1/50 too

 

Sadly, our battalion moved since then. New bays, new rock pits to plow...same old game.

 

Google said around 46% are eligible. We buy lunch when it’s something the kids want. But breakfast is always free. My kids eat at home, but sometimes they’ll grab a pancake or muffin. Lots of kids eat the “free” breakfast though.

 

It used to be said "The Sun never sets on the British Empire" and they were right. That power lasted over 300 years. We're only been a world power for about 75 years.

In Fareed Zararia's book "The Post-American World", he points out that the book wasn't about the fall of the US, but the rise of other world nations to match it in economic and political power (and sometimes military power).

Agreed, time will tell.

 

Hopefully "must be" won't happen. Additionally, it's not about running a little fat off people. It's about overcoming 18-20 years of slothful unhealthy lifestyles. The reason some are unfit isn't just because they are fat, but because they have fat for brains.

 

Agreed schools aren't the main problem: that's found at home for one or more reasons. However, schools can be part of the solution. This isn't about being a Nanny State, this is about both national security and the general welfare with an eye toward healthy, educated taxpayers. Preventive medicine is the cheapest medicine. Right now we're raising a nation of future diabetics and heart patients by the time they're in their late 40s or ealy 50s. That's going to cost "We, the People" in more ways than one.

 

Sorry, no it won't. 8 weeks can't fix a lifetime of lazy, fat-brained video game enthusiasts.

 

Agreed. When discussing national security and the future general welfare of our nation, I wish more people would rise above politics and put patriotism first for a change.

 

As stated previously, I doubt harsher or longer boot camps will solve the majority of the problem.

Additionally, being fat is unhealthy. The problem isn't calories, but unhealthy calories...a lot of them. Fatty, high carb foods are dirt cheap. So cheap, it's what farmers feed hogs. The difference between a farm raised hog and a feral hog is the same difference between most of our nation's 18-20 year olds and what our nation needs to defend itself.

 

Agreed. It's one thing to be a Nanny State, but when the "success" of our nation is so unhealthy that the vast majority of our young are unfit for military service and headed for diabetes and heart disease, it adversely affects our national defense.

 

I disagree. Longer boot camps, especially with a good diet, would take off more weight. I don't believe that humans have changed that much that they are irredeemable, which is what you seem to imply.

 

Talking about local schools :
https://weartv.com/news/local/45-sc...district-will-be-eligible-for-free-meal-plans
We have 51 schools, and in 45 of them all students get free meals. That's the majority here. My point was about my local schools.

 

Agreed that some can be salvaged, but what percentage? Currently, a third are not fit to serve due to weight. Some of the numbers are unfit for reasons unrelated to weight (IQ, criminal records, drug usage, etc) so there is certain to be overlap between those unfit and those unfit due to overweight.

Certainly some, with extra money, extra time can be put into good physical shape but how many would fail? Some would certainly qualify for Eater's Anonymous just like some would qualify for AA and Gambler's anonymous. Should money be invested in ex-drunks and gamblers in the modern military? I think not. They should prove themselves first before being allowed to serve. Same for those who are morbidly obese.

 

A comparison of obesity rates with some other countries: