The Obesity Epidemic and National Security

There is a lot of talk about the obesity epidemic in the outdoor industry. Americans are getting bigger and fatter, and let’s face it, we were already pretty big to start with. Kids sit in front of the TV a heck of a lot more today than ever before. That means they are not getting outside and (according to the the cynical side of me) their parents are not buying more gear. Parents are working more than ever so they can’t go hiking, biking or fishing with their kids and (according to the the cynical side of me) they are not buying more gear. College kids are spending their free time on video games and social networking and (according to the the cynical side of me) not buying more gear…

Apparently it’s not only a problem for the outdoor industry either. This sedentary lifestyle so prevalent today is impacting the military as well. The Army just redesigned their fitness routine because so many new recruits were overweight. This has led to more injuries during basic training and fewer fit recruits.

“What we were finding was that the soldiers we’re getting in today’s Army are not in as good shape as they used to be,” Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling said in a New York Times Article. “This is not just an Army issue. This is a national issue.”

The number of recruits who fail their physical exams has risen 70% since 1995, according to the article. Perhaps now that the military can;t find fit recruits, the country will wake up to the real cost of cheap, high calorie meals, cutting exercise from school curricula and sitting behind a desk all day.