Too fat to fight: Pentagon grapples with obesity epidemic

I agree with Pred and BuckyBadger. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say schools shouldn’t be feeding kids period. It’s parents responsibility. Period.

If parents aren’t responsible enough to provide food for their children they are guilty of abuse and negligence and shouldn’t have children.

This government feeding of kids breakfast, lunch, over the summer...it’s simply to reinforce the idea government is your provider and you are dependent on them. Same with year round school (day care). Most public education is a steaming pile of garbage. It’s in no way “education” anymore.

Also, this garbage about exercise not having an effect on obesity—if you believe this you don’t know what real exercise is.

Rant over.

 

I remember reading a few years ago about a school administrator (in Chicago I think) banning home-brought lunches. had something to do with "fairness" if memory serves.. that it wasn't "esteem boosting" or "fair" to the poor children to see their classmates noshing on lovingly prepared meals from home, while they were forced to eat subsidized school lunch fare.

 

When I went through One-Station Unit Training, OSUT, the infantry training brigade at Ft Benning GA in 1999, the 'pudgy' soldiers were sent to FTU, or Fitness Training Unit, for a few weeks prior to being sent to their training unit. Also, prior to graduation all recruits had to meet certain standards. Here are a few: Complete a 5 mile run in under 45 minutes in formation. Complete a 15 mile ruck march in 5 hours and a 12 mile march in 4 hours. Pass the Army's PT test. We actually did a 25 mile course that lasted 24 hours at the end of our final FTX, but it was not mandatory, meaning that if you fell out for some reason you could still graduate. But, you were expected to complete it.

That doesn't sound too difficult, and to be honest, after 20 or so weeks on Sand Hill, it was not. Furthermore, infantry line units have standards much higher than those. As an active duty infantryman you are expected to max your PT test with a score of 90 percent in each category. Complete a 12 mile road march in 'full battle rattle' with a 40 pound ruck in under 3 hours. Never fall out of any formation run, no matter what, and infantry officers are usually insane long distance runners. When I was a lowly private, my commanding officer would take us running on the tank trails of Fort Hood TX every Wednesday. We averaged 8 miles on those days. We did a half marathon one morning on a deployment to the desert of Kuwait. We would split up into small groups, but you still had to stay in formation.

So, to answer your question, yes, taxpayers should have a say in what schools serve. Propose things to government. If they do not support you, vote them out. More importantly though, we should take responsibility for our own lives, including feeding our children healthy food.

 

Is it acceptable that Melania be preaching against bullying? Where is the difference? That one was married to a Democrat and the other is married to a "Republican"?

 

Thanks for the feedback. My understanding of the problem is that the Army can't recruit enough people who can do such things. There's a difference between being overweight and out of shape vs. morbidly obese and unfit for duty.

Agreed on taxpayer say in matters, be it local, state or federal. Agreed care for children should be at home. The problem is with families below the poverty line.

Although I think the percentage break down in the link below isn't optimal, the total numbers are telling.

http://www.nccp.org/profiles/US_profile_7.html
12% (4,290,446) of white children live in poor families.

34% (3,260,998 ) of black children live in poor families.

28% (5,035,214) of Hispanic children live in poor families.

12% (409,465) of Asian children live in poor families.

35% (187,460) of American Indian children live in poor families.

 

What's the difference? good god, man, you don't know the difference between promoting an anti-bullying message and mandating America's school children eat what Michelle Obama tells them they can eat?

 

Good God, man, you don't know that FLOTUS has no Federal powers? WTF are they teaching in high schools these days?

 

really? so the Obama Youth school lunch initiative didn't happen?

 

Bring back PE and make mandatory to take it.

 

Are you saying FLOTUS had Federal powers or not?

 

How much insurance are the schools gonna carry for the kids who drop dead of stress-related heart attacks?

 

While I agree, that's only a fraction of the problem.

Human beings are wired to like sugar and fat since 1) those things are rare in the wild and 2) they're high calorie. Something very important when living on a starvation diet. Remember the Tom Hanks movie "Castaway"? He starts out chubby and ends up very lean after a year of fish and berries.

As most of us know, due to industrial farming, it's sugar and fat are cheap. It's more expensive to eat a grilled chicken salad at McDonalds then two double burgers and a sugar-laden coke. So there is both the cost issue and the desire issue.

 

one meal at noon isn't makin them obese, it's what they eat outside of school during the rest of the time and that they're lazy zombies... when i was that age, all us kids would be outside riding bicycles, playing sports, just about anything other than sitting inside the damm house, our parents had to yell at us to come in and eat dinner, then we'd rush right back outside to play...

 

Seriously? You think "mandatory PE" means running kids in 100 degree heat until they drop? No wonder 80% of Americans are sick and tired of the PC culture. No wonder Americans are weak and fat.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/a...orities-dislike-political-correctness/572581/
Among the general population, a full 80 percent believe that “political correctness is a problem in our country.” Even young people are uncomfortable with it, including 74 percent ages 24 to 29, and 79 percent under age 24. On this particular issue, the woke are in a clear minority across all ages.

 

Agreed. That's part of the problem. However, just taking away their smart phones and video games won't fix the entire problem. It's a combination of diet and exercise. "Diet" isn't just limiting calories, but limiting the type of calories.

 

and thats the 'parents/custodians' job

what ever happened to chores?

 

I agree it starts at home, but what if the parents are ****ing idiots, which about half are? Is it in the best interests of national security to educate kids about nutrition and encourage a healthy lifestyle?

IMHO, it is. "We, the People" are better of with healthy, educated adults because they make the best soldiers and the best tax payers. Obviously we also have to be cognizant of our Constitution and American ideology, so we shouldn't turn into an authoritarian state mandatory morning Tai Chi and limiting total calories per day like the ****ing Chinese.

 

@Max Rockatansky ... if they're parents are eff n idiots, what will making them skinny accomplish? the kids will just be skinny f n idiots...

that's another reason why i stand behind my belief that everyone must be forced into serving in the military from age 18 thru 21, for every day that they whine/cry they add three days to their tour, if they're obese they send them to the 'pork chop platoon' until they're back in shape, before allowing them to leave 'boot camp'...

 

I saw a chart recently (didn't take the time to find it and show it here) that showed obesity rates worldwide, and the U.S. is by far the worst. No other nation even comes close. Off topic, but this is why I laugh at the idea that America may have a civil war. Hell, the country is waaaaay too fat to have a civil war. Can you picture fat Americans trying to run up a hill with a rifle, ammo, food and water and then digging a foxhole? Lol ...

I do believe only healthy food should be provided to school children at school.

When I was in high school, P.E. was a mandatory class taken every day for all students - freshmen to seniors. We should go back to that. Wouldn't be a bad idea for a college degree too.

When I went to Basic Training, I remember most of us were not obese, but I remember this guy in my platoon who was. Boy, did he struggle! As time went by, he got into better shape, but in the end, it wasn't enough, and he had to be recycled. Not kicked out - recycled. I remember the drill sergeants going through the chow line with him, making sure he didn't get any desert or too much of anything. Poor guy ... He must have felt hungry the entire time. He reminds me of "Ox" from the movie "Stripes". But for him, this was no joke - nothing but struggle, mentally and physically.

I put on 20 pounds of muscle in Basic Training. I wouldn't have thought it was possible, but I started at a skinny 6'2", 165 lbs, and came out weighing 185 lbs. I felt like I could run forever, and I don't even like running. Point being, if I could improve that much, I'll bet "Ox" made it through too, except it just took him longer.

I don't know if that's still the policy (recycling) in the military these days. I was in the Army from 74-77. Maybe some of the more current vets could speak to this.

Seth

 

conscientious objectors can either move to mexico, or suck it up and serve their time...

 

I think laws should take human nature and its flaws into account. We are programmed to binge high calorie foods and the most effective way for people to eat healthy isn't to hope that they one day learn self-control, but simply to remove unhealthy options from easy quick food options. E.g. its impossible to diet if your fridge is full of junk food but its a lot easier if its full of healthy options.

When you go into stores, the first food people see are candy, chips, and soft drinks. Most restaurant options are junk food. East Asia countries aren't like this and while they certainly have junk food, it isn't so dominant as an easy opinion.

So, do we ban junk food? Lets start with something else that we tried with cigarettes. Just start by heavily taxing junk food opinions and specifically taxing fast food restaurant chains.

 

Considering how cheap sugar loaded foods are, and how expensive healthy food is, is it any surprise?

 

Maximizing the potential of our nation's youth is in the best interests of the nation for the aforementioned reasons but with the aforementioned limitations.

I support a draft with the stipulation that they be given a choice of Peace Corps, Americorps, the Dept. of Health or other such groups. The idea is to pull kids away from the apron strings and show them the world. OTOH, I don't want to turn the military into the training ground for America's low IQ citizens. The modern military is small and high tech. Let's not jam it up with a bunch of mentally or physically unfit people.

 

PC?

No.

But, you fail to take into account that some of these kids/recruits are so fat (and out of shape) that one jumping jack or a 20-yard walk could out them in the cardiac ward.

It has NOTHING to do with "PC Culture", and even interjecting that talking point into the discussion is beyond ludicrous.

PC?

 

There's an old saying about being a victim of one's own success. America today epitomizes that maxim.

I put on weight too when I first joined, all muscle. Nowadays, that's not the main problem.