The U.S. Army will reportedly end its weight requirement for troops after it fell 25 percent short of its recruiting goal in 2022 and will instead focus on an overall fitness score. 

Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston noted the potential change at the Association of the U.S. Army conference in Washington, D.C., Task and Purpose reported. 

The standard chart allows a woman who is 5’5 and up to 27 years old to weigh a maximum of 152 pounds. 

Men who are 6 feet tall and up to 20 years old cannot weigh more than 190 pounds. The soldiers are screened every six months, the report said. 

Some soldiers say the fitness test is more physically demanding and their additional muscle has impacted them by traditional standards. (See “BERKSHIRE BILLIONAIRE WHO MADE FORTUNE INVESTING IN COMPANIES THAT CONTRIBUTED TO U.S. OBESITY EPIDEMIC ‘APPALLED’ BY THOSE WHO REFUSE COVID JAB,” “OBESITY GROWS IN STATES WHERE AT LEAST 35 PERCENT ARE CONSIDERED OBESE”  and “LOCKDOWNS CREATING CHILD OBESITY CRISIS.”)

The Army Times reported that the Army is likely understrength by about 10,000 soldiers, and considered the U.S. in a “major recruiting crisis.” To accommodate would-be recruits, a pre-basic training course for applicants with too much body fat to join—about six percent—will be offered. They will receive standard pay during the course, and then move to basic training.

RT.com, the Russian state-controlled news outlet, noted that the U.S. Army came up short of its recruitment goals by about 25 percent in 2022. One of the theories that the recruitment drive fell short was because about 42 percent of the U.S. adult population are obese, so the pool is relatively narrow. 

The Physical Activity Alliance noted in July that only two in five young adults are both weight-eligible and adequately physically active for recruitment, Club Industry reported.

“This is a complex problem that has a deep impact on national security by limiting the number of available recruits, decreasing reenlistment candidacy, and potentially reducing mission readiness,” Sara Police, PhD, Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, told the outlet. “Additional, relevant issues include the changing demographics of the military and food insecurity among military families.”

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: As stated by General Hawley, “In the civilian world, unfit or overweight employees can impact the bottom line.”

Unquestionably, as evidenced by military and civilian studies, addiction to processed, low quality junk food and lack of proper exercise have significant health consequences.