Overweight In The Military Essay

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Recommended: Army physical readiness training

Overweight conditions and obesity in the military is a high priority and is under continued review by leaders. Service members that are out of shape and overweight is an issue for unit readiness. Overweight conditions carry an overload of military medical concerns for health and physical fitness, as well as a greater impact on eligibility to serve. The military uses disciplinary actions for soldiers who are unable to progress or improve weight standards including career implications, involuntary separation or bar to reenlistment.
The percentage of active duty soldiers who needed medical attention because of overweight or obesity tripled from 1.6% in 1998 to 5.3% in 2010 (Shrestha, Combest, Fonda, Alfonso, & Guerrero, 2013). It is difficult to pin point the causes for changes to overweight and obesity levels in the military, since physical fitness …show more content…

Vigorous physical activity can lead to greater cost savings long term, fewer doctor visits, and less medications compared to the costs associated with inactive adults. Physical activity is possible for most adults, and as a nation, improving physical activity levels will have a major economic impact. A key factor to improving physical activity as a nation lies within the medical profession, which has a significant influence to encourage or recommend increased physical activity for older adults. Healthcare providers play an important role in motivating older adults to improve their physical activity levels. Taylor (2014) stated that only 32% of healthcare providers provided exercise counseling or education to older adults, even though the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) provided initiatives, to encourage healthcare providers to record physical activity as a vital sign, and prescribe exercise as they might a medication for patients, these initiatives were found to increase exercise

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