Pete Hegesh is formal: the “too fat to fight” invades the US army. For the Secretary of American Defense, “obese” soldiers refer to a “bad image” of the US army.
During a speech at the base of the cantico Marine, Virginia’s body on Tuesday, September 30, Pete Hegseth announced the implementation of new guidelines on the physical condition of the members of the Army. For combat publications, he even announced the return to the “strictest male standards.”
21.6% of American soldiers are obese
“If you do not pass a physical preparation test or if you do not want to shave and have a professional appearance, it is time to change your job or profession,” he warned. For the Trump administration member, “it is exhausting to see obese troops” within the United States Army, which is struggling to recruit.
“In the same way, it is completely unacceptable to see obese generals and admirals in the pentagon halls and the leadership head of the world,” Pete Hegseth continued on Tuesday.
According to a report from Think floor American security project, 21.6% of American soldiers in active duty are obese, a rate that has been duplicated in a decade. According to this 2023 document, 52,000 candidates were rejected in the ranks of the US army due to their overweight. “The estimated cost of obesity between the active army in service exceeds $ 1.35 billion per year, including $ 1.25 billion for direct attention and additional $ 99 million for productivity losses linked to hospitalizations in 2023,” said the American security project.
To deal with him, the Pentagon has established programs to improve the physical condition of US troops. But the result was mediocre, because the body mass of the military only fell by 1%.
In the age population to serve (between 17 and 42), only one third of Americans could fight, according to a study published by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in September 2022.
In France, the Army said in March 2024 “extremely vigilant” about obesity -related problems, which is “unlikely” escape. According to the French army, the prevalence of obesity was evaluated at 9.6 % in the Tricolor Armed Forces in 2017, with 36.1 % of the overweight workforce.
Source: BFM TV
