Three years after being rescued by a bailout, General Motors last week announced some rather ambitious profit targets for 2012.This spring retired military leaders issued a report titled “Too Fat to Fight,” in which they said childhood obesity is posing a threat to America’s national security.
They found that 27 percent of all young adults were too fat for service and that the problem is getting worse.
And the ones who do make it are not in as good shape as their predecessors.
The Army has changed its physical training regimen. The new regimen has more emphasis on exercises that mimic what soldiers do in combat – sprinting, climbing, rolling and crouching with an emphasis on agility and balance.
Once the recruits finish training, they still must face for the duration of their careers the Army’s twice-yearly physical fitness test that still adheres closely to tradition – push-ups, sit-ups and a two-mile run.
Army officials noted that this isn’t the first time poor diet has affected military readiness. In World War II, they noted that at least 40 percent of rejected recruits were turned away for reasons connected with poor nutrition. They noted that after the war, the general who ran the military draft was instrumental in winning passage of the National School Lunch Act.
Perhaps it’s time for another military intervention in the national diet.
