Today in the news on Danish television there was a segment on how the US military are having problems recruiting because so many of the new recruits are too overweight. They interviewed one guy who said: “My generation is just brought up on junk food and spending all day on the couch playing video games, and mom was just getting us whatever we needed.”
I must admit I was honestly a bit shocked.
I know this was just one guy, and I know the US is a great and very diverse country with many different kinds of peoples and lifestyles. I do not want to shame anyone. The whole thing just made me wonder.

Is the 15-25 y.o. in the US in general really so overweight it’s the main reason why the military can’t meet their goal of 500,000 soldiers standing ready?
And has a bigger frame become the new “normal”, which is accepted by all/most?
Or is it the “segment” – if there is a specific one? – who are inclined to apply for duty, that consists of more people with a lifestyle that makes them overweight?

I really hope this is not taken as offensive, I assure, I do not mean to. My language skills might be the reason if my point come across in a different way than I meant.

I would very much appreciate any reply. I’m interested to learn more about both your culture and your people.

26 comments

  1. Lol, the US has no such problem and there are always people willing to enlist. Now less people may be wanting to enlist, which is a different problem than people trying to enlist but get refused due to their weight.

    Is obesity an issue, yes, but a widespread problem is debatable.

  3. It isn’t a problem for the military. They always say they are having problems recruiting lol.

    That said, yes ppl out of shape is a huge issue. 10, 20 years ago it was such a no brainer to say “being in shape is good” and now trying to address it gets you attacked politically from both parties, for different reasons.

    It’s not really young kids (unless parents feed them crap) but I think after grade school where you get less active and can buy your own food, I noticed tons of people gained weight 😅

  4. Obesity is a major public health issue, but there are plenty of requirements the military could relax if they wanted more bodies.

  5. I dont believe that the reason that the average young american isn’t joining the military isnt because they’re overweight, I believe its mainly due to the fact that most young americans dont trust their government, and or just simply don’t have the drive to join the military. In WW2, WW1, and the Iraq War, young americans had much more of a reason and drive to join the military, excluding the drafts present in some of those times. And to answer your question about obesity, while it is true that a vast amount of americans are overweight/obese, I anecdotally believe its just older americans, as the vast majority of young people I walk past are either physically fit or just healthy looking. Although that could be because I live in Illinois, where overweight and obese people arent as common like in states like Alabama. Hope I answered your question, and no it was not at all offensive, just reasonable seeing what the media told you.

  6. Obesity and our food quality is a major health issue in this country. I mean you can look up the stats, most American adults are overweight and a third are obese.

    As for the military, they probably could whip some of those “just overweight” folks into shape if they really *needed* to. Like if there was an invasion I don’t think the government would just throw their hands up and go “oh dear, they’re all fat, it is what it is.”

  7. I lived in Denmark for a little bit it’s very comparable at least to where I live now. In fact I noticed more obesity/overweight people in Denmark. Too much licorice maybe lol. 🤔 No but seriously it was suprising, I wonder if it’s more of an over/under diagnosis thing.

    Also, if you watch TV2 it’s really not that great at portrayal of American life…like actually it misrepresents life here dramatically. Almost felt like watching propoganda 😅

    Love Denmark though. I miss the æbleskiver and strong coffee.

  8. The military can always relax their standards if they want more bodies. [A bigger issue is only 9% of young Americans (age 16-21) say that they’re interested in joining the military](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/26/us-army-struggles-to-find-recruits-its-needs-to-win-fight-of-future.html).

    [military.com](https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/09/28/new-pentagon-study-shows-77-of-young-americans-are-ineligible-military-service.html):

    >”When considering youth disqualified for one reason alone, the most prevalent disqualification rates are overweight (11%), drug and alcohol abuse (8%), and medical/physical health (7%),” the study, which examined Americans between the ages of 17 and 24, read. The study was conducted by the Pentagon’s office of personnel and readiness.

    >Mental health accounted for 4% of disqualifications, while aptitude, conduct or being a dependent accounted for 1% each. Most youth, 44%, were disqualified for multiple reasons.

  9. It is a problem, but I think just in general not as many people want to enlist.

    There are lots of people slightly overweight or on the bubble weigh-wise for the military. Your recruiter will work with you on a program to get in shape if you are willing before sending you off to MEPS.

  10. Obesity is A reason, not THE reason.

    Obesity is an issue, yes. If you’ve paid attention to Internet memes in the last 20 years, you’d be very familiar.

    As far as the Army specifically, it’s due in large part to social media. Current Soldiers are pretty blunt about not joining the Army because of terrible leadership. The 2007 surge in Iraq led to temporary waivers for people otherwise unqualified for military service. Those Soldiers who joined with waivers are now senior leaders. They make life miserable for everyone else.

    Overall, the military is struggling because it finally modernized most of its healthcare records. Military medical records now integrate with civilian medical records. In other words, you can’t lie about medical diagnoses anymore. That’s a major roadblock for people who had childhood asthma, for example.

  11. Yeah obesity is a big problem. People don’t properly understand nutrition and sugar is in everything, which turns into fat in the body. People have sedentary jobs and don’t exercise enough. But now calling obesity a health issue is considered “body shaming” so people feel entitled to remain unhealthy.

    I think that the military recruiting issue has more to do with how veterans are treated. Thousands and thousands of soldiers lost their lives in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan and are treated like shit by the government. Many veterans end up with disabilities and mental health conditions like PTSD after war and end up homeless. Read up about Veterans Row in LA if you want to learn more.

  12. Obesity is a major health concern. The other issue is that overall feelings of patriotism declined in the USA very quickly [https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/29/politics/american-patriotism-polling/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/29/politics/american-patriotism-polling/index.html). In 2022 58% of Republicans, 34% of Independents and 26% of Democrats said they were very proud to be American, the lowest recorded. That number has almost certainly increased. The pay, benefits and general military lifestyle also no longer seem worth it to many young Americans.

    ​

    If the number of people that view the military as a valid career, and the number of people that feel extreme patriotisms both decreased very rapidly in a few years, our obesity rates in the 12-19 year old category only increased 4% since 9/11.

    ​

    I think saying, “Americans are too fat” is a much easier pill to swallow then saying, “Americans don’t want to”; luckily I grew up in West Virginia so I’m pretty good at swallowing pills.

  13. Nearly 1/3 of American adults are obese. Not overweight, but obese which is a more severe version of overweight.

    It’s an extreme problem where I live.

  14. I guess it’s an issue, but it’s not something I care about. People can make their own decisions.

    Joining the military just isn’t appealing imo.

  15. TV2!? I just returned from doing research in Denmark, I love your little country ❤️ it’s been my home-away-from-home in Europe and will hold a special place in my heart as long as I live.

    With that, I struggled convincing Danes I was American because I didn’t “look American” to the Danish. For the most part, I was way too “skinny” to be American.

    Even after getting to know some Danes better, they would say things along the lines of; “But of course, you’re not a normal American.” With specific reference to my weight.

    Now, I know very little about the military or recruitment challenges and granted I’m really quite skinny, but I know Americans vary a lot, and that if the military needs +500,000 skeletons, such as myself, they’d be able to find them.

    If you can still find the article/interview, I’d love to give it a read! Also, no worries about your English, it’s great 👍 I’m glad you’re curious to learn more about the U.S.

    Every Dane I met, that had been to the States, visited the coasts. There’s a lot in between! Please come explore Colorado sometime.

    Edit: spelling.

  16. Weight, medical reasons, mental health, people who can’t or won’t follow orders, aggressive towards anyone in charge, etc, all of this will keep someone out of the military. And those are just what i remember from 15 years ago. When my dad retired in 1990, they were doing the “fat boy” program. A lot of service members were kicked out/encouraged to retire because they couldn’t meet PT standards or BMI.

  17. Yes, America has a problem with obesity.

    Is that the defining reason why the army is having a hard time recruiting? Not really. I’m sure it’s a contributing factor – *BUT* the military is not seen as a desirable career . . . more often than not, it is an employer of last resort. I think most young people would rather work at Taco Bell or open pokemon cards on twitch than join the military.

  18. Obesity is a very serious issue here, high obesity rate and i believe heart disease is the leading cause of death

  19. Obesity is a problem nationwide, and in most western countries now. However in my area at least most people are not obese.

  20. Obesity is very much a problem here but that’s not why the military is having trouble recruiting. Honestly I would start taking that news source with a grain of salt going forward.

  21. obesity is no more of a problem in the us than it is everywhere else. the military isn’t able to meet its quota because americans dont want to join the military,

  22. American lifestyle is too car centric. As a result people don’t walk places

  23. Obesity *is* a huge problem, one of our biggest I’d say, but…

    …I’m not sure that’s why the military is having issues recruiting lol I think that’s probably their scapegoat because they don’t want to admit that enlisting is a bad deal at the moment.

    When the next economic downturn comes, they’ll have plenty of recruits.

  24. Yes there is an obesity epidemic in America.

    There is also a bitch-ass epidemic. That’s why the military is having issues with recruitment. They are going to have to do a draft when we go to war.

  26. Obesity is about twice as common in our country as it is in yours, but what you’re talking about is just old military codgers making excuses for why no one wants to join their shitty organization anymore.

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