Because the companies grapple with growing numbers of obese troops within the ranks, booting quick meals eating places from bases may assist lower weight problems charges within the armed forces, in response to the U.S. army’s prime enlisted official.
The feedback made by Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Troy E Black, the senior enlisted advisor to Joint Chiefs of Workers Chairman Gen. CQ Brown got here in an interview late final month on the MOPs and MOEs Podcast.
“If you wish to scale back weight problems, serve various kinds of meals on the chow corridor,” Black mentioned. “Take away instantly all fast-food eating places from all installations.”
Black mentioned the general worth of treating American service members as property, simply because the army maintains tanks and plane. Specifically, he centered on their bodily and psychological well being
A spokesperson for Black declined additional remark this week.
Whereas he wasn’t making a proper coverage proposal for such a ban, Black mentioned the concept of eradicating sources of unhealthy meals was an instance of one thing the Pentagon may do comparatively simply to enhance well being with out requiring more cash or extra analysis.
Eating halls have stricter requirements for the standard of meals they serve, primarily based on contracts they signal with the Protection Division, Black famous.
However troops usually sidestep these choices when quick meals can be obtainable, he mentioned, and diet then turns into a race to the underside.
“Sadly, it doesn’t compete with a cheeseburger,” Black mentioned.
Practically 70 p.c of service members are both obese or overweight, in response to an American Safety Challenge report launched in October.
The research highlighted Protection Division knowledge exhibiting that the weight problems price, calculated utilizing an individual’s age, peak and weight, has greater than doubled over the previous decade, from 10% to roughly 21%. On the identical time, greater than half of younger People now qualify as overweight, and it was the highest disqualifier for recruiting prospects as of the time of the report’s publication.
Black famous how the eligible recruit pool has reduced in size in America on account of these pervasive well being points as properly.
“Proper now, solely about 24% of the American inhabitants meets the bodily health requirements to hitch army service — weight problems being the bigger of the variety of disqualifiers,” he mentioned. “We’ve a societal challenge.”
Noah Robertson is the Pentagon reporter at Protection Information. He beforehand lined nationwide safety for the Christian Science Monitor. He holds a bachelor’s diploma in English and authorities from the School of William & Mary in his hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia.
