According to data obtained by Military Times, the Army hosts the highest percentage of obese or overweight personnel, at more than 10 percent of Soldiers exceeding maximum standards. Air Force is a close second, followed by Navy. Army's total is up from 6.4 percent five years ago.
The USAF came in at 9 percent of Airmen obese or overweight, more than double its 4.3 percent number of 2011. Navy's 5.9 percent of personnel not meeting standards and considered either overweight or obese is also up from the 3.3 percent number it too posted in 2011.
The Marine Corps is the fittest service branch, with 2.3 percent of Marines considered to have an excessive or high Body Mass Index, or BMI, which is an increase from its previous 1.7 percent. Having served in Marine Corps units, I'm amazed the number's that high. They're usually brutal about very quickly enforcing height-weight-appearance standards, and any deviation from such is typically grounds for a swift exit from the Corps.
It's also no surprise the Pentagon slow-walked the release of obesity data by service branch after last month's release of overall BMI statistics. After all, legitimate questions would be raised about the military's readiness, though higher-ups and spokesmouthpieces assure us the stats don't mean our armed forces aren't ready for combat.
And the fattest U.S. military service is ...
"Politics is just show business for ugly people."
The USAF came in at 9 percent of Airmen obese or overweight, more than double its 4.3 percent number of 2011. Navy's 5.9 percent of personnel not meeting standards and considered either overweight or obese is also up from the 3.3 percent number it too posted in 2011.
The Marine Corps is the fittest service branch, with 2.3 percent of Marines considered to have an excessive or high Body Mass Index, or BMI, which is an increase from its previous 1.7 percent. Having served in Marine Corps units, I'm amazed the number's that high. They're usually brutal about very quickly enforcing height-weight-appearance standards, and any deviation from such is typically grounds for a swift exit from the Corps.
It's also no surprise the Pentagon slow-walked the release of obesity data by service branch after last month's release of overall BMI statistics. After all, legitimate questions would be raised about the military's readiness, though higher-ups and spokesmouthpieces assure us the stats don't mean our armed forces aren't ready for combat.
And the fattest U.S. military service is ...
"Politics is just show business for ugly people."