Citation

Gagnon M, Stephens MB. Mil. Med. 2015; 180(4): 464-467.

Affiliation

Department of Family Medicine, Uniformed Services University, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, A1038, Bethesda, MD 20814-4799.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Association of Military Surgeons of the United States)

DOI

10.7205/MILMED-D-14-00328

PMID

25826352

Abstract

Obesity has been a topic of intense interest in the United States for several years. Rising rates of obesity have led some to question whether or not America will be able to readily sustain a fit fighting force into the future. This study seeks to describe at what point, projecting current trends in obesity and military accession, there would no longer be a sufficient number of qualified applicants to support an effective military fighting force. By analyzing trends in national obesity data and military accession records, the authors were unable to determine a realistic time projection of a year in which the United States would no longer be able to find enough qualified military applicants as a result of increasing obesity rates.

Language: en