Armchair warriors and Halo heroes, the military would like you to upgrade to Wii Fit now. As the Washington Post‘s svelte war-zone reporter Ernesto Londoño reported Monday, Uncle Sam’s fighting forces are really busy weeding out corpulent corporals:
Under intense pressure to trim its budget, the Army is dismissing a rising number of soldiers who do not meet its fitness standards, drawing from a growing pool of troops grappling with obesity.
Obesity is now the leading cause of ineligibility for people who want to join the Army, according to military officials, who see expanding waistlines in the warrior corps as a national security concern. (Read more…)
Londoño reports that discharges for overweight soldiers have busted through the roof (or, if you prefer, through the floor) in recent years: “During the first 10 months of this year, the Army kicked out 1,625 soldiers for being out of shape, nearly 16 times the number eased out for that reason in 2007, the peak of wartime deployment cycles.” (You can find more historical data on Army discharges here.) The Navy, too, is cracking down on physical-test failures, discharging 40 percent more fitness-deficient sailors than in previous years.
Here’s the thing, though: This might be good news for the military.
[VIA MoJo Blogs and Articles | Mother Jones]
