In fiscal year 2022, the US Army failed to make its recruiting goal for the first time, falling short by 15,000 recruits, or a quarter of the requirement, CNA reported.
New research found that obesity in the US military surged during the pandemic. In the Army alone, nearly 10,000 active duty soldiers developed obesity between February 2019 and June 2021, pushing the rate to nearly a quarter of the troops studied.
But there is no sign that the trend is ending, underscoring longstanding concerns about the readiness of America’s fighting forces.
Military leaders have been warning about the impact of obesity on the US military for more than a decade, but the lingering pandemic effects highlight the need for urgent action.
Of the cohort of nearly 200,000 soldiers who remained, the researchers found that nearly 27 percent who were healthy before the pandemic became overweight. And nearly 16 percent of those who were previously overweight became obese. Before the pandemic, about 18 percent of the soldiers were obese; by 2021, it grew to 23 percent.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that in 2020, nearly 1 in 5 of all service members were obese.
But putting on extra pounds during the pandemic was not just a military problem. A survey last year of American adults found that nearly half reported gaining weight after the first year of the COVID-19 emergency. More than 40 percent of American adults and nearly 20 percent of children struggle with obesity, according to the CDC.
“Why would we think the military is any different than a person who is not in the military?” said Dr. Amy Rothberg, an endocrinologist at the University of Michigan who directs a weight-loss program.
A new category of effective anti-obesity drugs could be a powerful aid, Rothberg added.
It will take broad measures to address the problem, including looking at the food offered in military cafeterias, understanding sleep patterns and treating service members with issues such as PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, Rothberg said.
