Unfit to Fight: How Overweight and Obesity Affect Readiness

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Table of Contents

Topic and Problem                                                                                                                         5

Topic                                                                                                                                            5

Problem Statement                                                                                                                     5

Purpose of the Study (Sometimes known as Purpose Statement)                                          5

Research Questions and Strategy (Hypothesis)                                                                       5

Literature Review                                                                                                                           7

First Theme of the Literature Review Discussed                                                                    8

Second Theme of the Literature Review Discussed                                                                8

Summary of Findings                                                                                                                 8

Links to Professional Practice                                                                                                       8

Links to Policy:                                                                                                                           9

Conclusion:                                                                                                                                     9

References                                                                                                                                     10

Topic and Problem

Overweight and obesity are defined based on body mass index (BMI), which measures weight concerning height. In adults, overweight and obesity ranges are determined by using standard BMI cut points. A BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight, while a BMI of 30 or greater is considered obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC further classifies people with a BMI of 40 or greater as extremely obese. Overall, more than one-third of U.S. adults are obese, while another third are overweight. The Defense Department uses a modified definition to assess whether service members meet weight standards and qualify for military service. It considers both height and weight, with some allowances made based on age, gender and body fat percentage. According to this definition, the prevalence of overweight or obesity among Service members is similar to that seen in the general U.S. population: 31 percent in 2018 compared with 35 percent in 2017 (Díaz-Castro et al., 2017). As awareness about the health effects of overweight and obesity has grown over the last few decades, so too has a concern about how these conditions affect readiness, particularly given the physical demands of military service.

Background of the Problem

In addition to increasing the risk of chronic disease and premature death, overweight and obesity can adversely affect service members' health-related fitness or military readiness. The impact of excess weight on military readiness is a function of body composition, such as body fat versus lean mass and not just total weight. Military personnel must perform sustained aerobic exercise while carrying heavy loads and anaerobic burst activities that require rapid movements such as running, lifting, throwing, catching, climbing, and jumping with agility over rough terrain and obstacles (Sherma, 2020). Physical fitness requires a balance between strength, muscular endurance, flexibility and cardiorespiratory endurance. Excess body fat is associated with reduced aerobic capacity, strength and flexibility, limiting job performance and increasing musculoskeletal injury risk during training and operations.

Purpose of the Study (Sometimes known as Purpose Statement)

The focus of this research was to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the US army, determine components related to overweight and obesity, and analyze the link involving extra weight as well as other health complications. The study used data from a large-scale health survey that included more than 6,000 active-duty personnel seen at military medical facilities in 2009. The researchers found that approximately one-third of service members were classified as overweight (29 percent) or obese (6 percent) based on body mass index (BMI) (Babajide et al., 2020).  They also found that about 8 percent of respondents reported having diabetes, high blood pressure, or cardiovascular disease. These findings are an important first step toward understanding how weight status affects the health and readiness of service members. The information will help military leaders develop strategies to improve the overall health of members of the armed forces and recruit a more physically fit force in the future.

Research Questions and Strategy (Hypothesis)

The goal of this study is to look at the link involving BMI and military attrition, promotion opportunities, and physical conditioning in a nationally representative survey of US military personnel. The researchers investigated if being overweight or obese is linked to lower retention, promotion opportunities, or physical conditioning.

This research gives answers to the following research quizzes:

• Does military personnel's overweight and obesity classification affect their overall readiness?

• If so, how big is the impact on their readiness?

• Can this impact be reduced if the military can create a system to encourage physical fitness?

The research strategy is as follows:

The researchers' strategy to explore this issue is hypothesis testing using statistical methods. This is because the study was interested in finding out whether obesity affected individuals between the ages of 17-35 years, and hence these age groups were selected for the study. The hypothesis tested in this research was that obesity and overweight among young people aged between 17-35 years affect their readiness for active duty. The study will use a sampling approach where 100 military personnel will be randomly selected. The sample size will include 50% male and 50% female. The sample size is based on power analysis with 80% power, 95% confidence level, a 1-beta error rate of 0.05 and a p-value of 0.5 (Burkhalter, 2019). The independent variable will be measured using BMI, while the dependent variable (military readiness) will be measured using the fat levels and the size of the waist.

Literature Review

First Theme of the Literature Review Discussed

Poor eating habits and a lack of physical activity have long been linked to weight increase, and doctors have been aware of this since the eighteenth century. Students in the seventh and fifth grades are eighth-graders. Personal, genetic, environmental, and psychosocial factors all affect whether or whether an individual becomes obese and develops the associated health problems. The subject of nutrition and metabolism, on the other hand, is admittedly more difficult to grasp than others (Eve, 2017). Long-term caloric intake and long-term calorie expenditure must be equal to keep a consistent weight over time. Before the Industrial Revolution and the broad adoption of commercial agriculture practices, humans have generally lived at or near subsistence levels. The availability of high-calorie foods and the amount of food accessible has increased due to technological breakthroughs, agricultural advancements, commercial innovations, and other industries.

Second Theme of the Literature Review Discussed

Modern civilizations are increasingly confronted with the consequences of people eating more food than they can burn off because they lack a driving reason to keep them moving. As a result, losing weight is an extremely challenging endeavor for most people. A year after starting their weight loss attempts, fewer than 20% of persons succeed in decreasing 10% of their body weight (DAA, 2017). According to the specialist, one of the indications of chronic malnutrition is obesity. Medically, malnutrition is defined as a deficiency in one or more dietary components or a lack of overall nutrient intake. It is possible to develop secondary malnutrition due to a sickness that alters a person's ability to eat, metabolize, and absorb nutrients. Obesity can be equally detrimental to one's health, and the ability to function as overeating and a lack of physical activity are well-known.

Obesity's Challenges to Readiness to Fight

Because of the significant incidence of obesity and overweight, physicians may not be able to counsel all military personnel at risk. Aside from that, not all of them seen in primary care are ready to engage in weight-controlling interventions such as dietary modifications and regular physical activity. Military personnel are unsure whether they wish to make any changes throughout the contemplative and contemplative periods (Sherma, 2020). Those who have spent some time planning or maintaining change are more likely to benefit from behavioral therapies centered on taking action. Military personnel in the early phases of a behavioral change process may be more receptive to ideas for applying and maintaining the new behavior. Weight loss counseling includes advice on various topics, including diet, exercise, and weight loss.

Only a few studies have examined the proportion of military personnel in the advanced stages of weight loss and are also in the advanced stages of the diet and exercise improvement (Babajide et al., 2020). Many weight-related habits take a long time to modify, determining the set of changes in clinical practice. One approach might be to evaluate military personnel for their interest in weight loss before screening only those motivated to alter their eating and physical activity habits. This strategy may result in missed opportunities to counsel military personnel who do not wish to lose weight but are motivated to exercise or adjust their diet.

Obesity and Individual Fitness

Despite this reality, physical activity and exercise are distinct ideas. Work, leisure, household duties, and even the daily commute can all count as forms of exercise because they all entail movement that burns calories. To be considered physical exercise, activity does not have to be strenuous (Díaz-Castro et al., 2017). As a subcategory of physical activity, exercise includes routine, structured, and planned actions intended to benefit one's health. Using the words leisure-time physical activity and recreational physical activity interchangeably may be required for researchers to avoid confusion. If a 160-pound individual were to sit or sleep, they would burn around 70 calories an hour, or one calorie for every 2.2 pounds of their body weight (Burkhalter, 2019). When exercising at a moderate level, individuals must burn three to six times the energy per minute than they would if they were merely sitting down. Using self-reports of daily physical activity is difficult for researchers to precisely measure people's normal physical activity levels in their studies.

Summary of Findings

There are many reasons why obesity is a problem for the military. First, it can directly affect readiness by increasing the risk of injuries. Second, obesity is associated with multiple health problems that may affect an individual's ability to deploy, perform their duties and recover from injury or illness. Third, obesity can be expensive for the military. A recent study found that obese service members spent 42% more than non-obese service members on healthcare in 2009.

Overweight and obesity affect readiness in multiple ways:

Injury prevention: Studies suggest that overweight and obese individuals are more likely than those at a healthy weight to sustain injuries during training or while deployed. This is especially true given the high physical demands of combat, where flexibility and mobility are essential for survival (DAA, 2017).

Musculoskeletal injuries: Overweight and obese individuals have an increased risk of stress fractures, knee injuries, sprains and strains compared to their healthy-weight peers. These injuries can significantly impact an individual's ability to perform even basic functions required in a combat environment.

Heat exhaustion: Due to higher core temperatures and the need for heavier protective clothing, overweight individuals are at greater risk of heat exhaustion than their healthy-weight peers when working in hot environments.

Links to Professional Practice

1. The literature review links the military's obesity problem to a lack of qualified personnel. As a senior enlisted leader, one will understand that obesity is likely to worsen over time if left untreated. With 70% of the population categorized as overweight or obese, there is a substantial financial burden. Obesity-related healthcare costs may make it impossible for the United States to defend itself adequately in the future.
2. The literature review linked the increasing share of healthcare spending in the US GDP to the military's obesity problem. As of 2000, health care costs in the United States accounted for 13% of the country's GDP. As of 2015, that number had risen to 18 percent (Reyes, Bray, Hoffman, and Williams, 2015).  Health care costs less than 9% of GDP in most countries, and many of these countries have well-established institutions to help them get there. A senior leader enlisted understands that the health care system in the United States military is to be the most expensive and the least effective to the literature.

Links to Policy:

• America's failure to confront dangers and weaker admissions criteria may lead to a future in which military jobs are either outsourced or replaced by automated systems rather than human humans.
• Obesity-related troop shortages need lowering military personnel weight regulations. Armed forces should be able to accept service members who are both physically more prominent and less physically active.
• The scarcity of military personnel may be alleviated by increasing the number of people authorized to enlist (Eve, 2017).
• Another possibility is that the weight and fitness standards established by the military are no longer relevant. In the future, soldiers may not be required to maintain a healthy weight due to technological improvements in the military. The United States may support a robust military presence even if some personnel are less physically fit than others. 

Conclusion

This research shows that obesity is significantly linked to higher ranks, which has important implications for the Army as it continues to modernize. Americans need to be honest about how the Army's records system does not accurately picture individual or collective readiness. For this study, the preparation state of units was not assessed or addressed because it is a national security concern. However, it could be a good topic for further study if classified at the right level.

References

Babajide, O., Hissam, T., Anna, P., Anatoliy, G., Astrup, A., Alfredo Martinez, J., & Sørensen, T. I. (2020, June). A machine learning approach to short-term body weight prediction in a dietary intervention program. In International Conference on Computational Science (pp. 441-455). Springer, Cham. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-3-030-50423-6_33.pdf (ICOTEN). https://doi.org/10.1109/icoten52080.2021.9493560

Burkhalter, S. D. (2019). The risks of sedentary work & prolonged sitting and the effects of physical activity in the workplace. Exerc. Sports Nutr. Rev, 1, 10. https://www.exerciseandsportnutritionlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ESNR-1.10-2019.pdf

DAA, N. (2017). A preliminary study about improving motivation treadmill exercise in reducing the body weight by decreasing the environmental temperature: A hypothesis. Journal of Obesity & Weight Loss Therapy, 07(03). https://doi.org/10.4172/2165-7904.1000341

Díaz-Castro, J., Pulido-Morán, M., Moreno-Fernández, J., Kajarabille, N., Hijano, S., & Ochoa, J. (2017). Role of melatonin supplementation during strenuous exercise. Physical Activity and the Aging Brain, 95-103. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-805094-1.00010-1

Eve, B. (2017). When some are more equal than others. Investment Claims. https://doi.org/10.1093/law-iic/9780198809722.016.0008

Reyes-Guzman, C. M., Bray, R. M., Forman-Hoffman, V. L., & Williams, J. (2015). Overweight and obesity trends among active-duty military personnel. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 48(2), 145-153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2014.08.033

Sherma, R. D. (2020). Contemplative studies and the principles and practices of Hindu contemplative life. Contemplative Studies and Hinduism, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003042419-1