U.K. military worried some soldiers too fat

[jimmy olsen]

I weep for the Empire. 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32258224/ns/world_news-europe/

U.K. military worried some soldiers too fat
Army needs to 'reinvigorate a warrior ethos and a culture of being fit'

updated 11:34 a.m. ET, Sun., Aug 2, 2009

LONDON - British soldiers are getting so fat it's putting lives at risk, according to a leaked memo from the army's physical training corps published in a Sunday newspaper.

The Observer said an emergency memo sent to all units of the British army earlier this month warned that an increasing number of soldiers had become so fat they couldn't be deployed to conflict zones and urged commanders to focus on physical fitness.

The army "has not consistently maintained our standards of physical fitness" and needs to "reinvigorate a warrior ethos and a culture of being fit," the newspaper quoted the July 10 memo as saying.

The Ministry of Defense offered no direct comment on The Observer's report but it did not dispute its accuracy. The ministry said only that commanders had recently been told to ensure that all units were following the army's physical fitness policy.

'Personnel unfit to deploy'
The newspaper said the memo warned that an increasing number of British soldiers were being classified as "personnel unfit to deploy," putting operations and lives at risk in places such as Afghanistan, where British forces are grappling with Taliban rebels in brutal conditions.

The report comes three years after Britain's military loosened its fitness requirements to reach more recruits. The maximum body mass index allowable for an enlistee was raised from 28 to 32. The World Health Organization defines "overweight" as a body mass index equal to or more than 25, and "obese" as an index equal to or more than 30.

Obesity is a growing problem in Britain, as in many other countries. In 2007 a government-commissioned report predicted that as many as nine out of 10 U.K. adults could be overweight by 2050.

Widening waistlines are a problem for the U.S. Army as well. Earlier this year the Army's recruitment chief said obesity was the biggest obstacle to enrolling young men and women into the military — more of a problem than lack of education or a criminal record.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.

[Siege]

Highlights!

[Eddie Teach]

Highlights!

The article is about fat soldiers, not ones with faggy haircuts.

[Siege]

Whoa, 28% bodyfat?

I have 18 and I feel like I need to cut down on the beer.

Are brits really that fat?

[Tonitrus]

Whoa, 28% bodyfat?

I have 18 and I feel like I need to cut down on the beer.

Are brits really that fat?

Nah, that's BMI, not body fat.

It just measures height and weight, and comes up with a number.

BMI is crap...you could have 0% body fat, but if you're a bit shorter than average, but a solid mass of muscle, BMI would show you as "obese".

[The Brain]

It's all that military food no doubt.

[Syt]

English military food, no less.

[Ed Anger]

English military food, no less.

I remember a passage from those books that came out from after the first Gulf War that American troops wouldn't trade for English rations. They'd try to get a hold of French rations, but not English ones since they was so awful.

[Syt]

English military food, no less.

I remember a passage from those books that came out from after the first Gulf War that American troops wouldn't trade for English rations. They'd try to get a hold of French rations, but not English ones since they was so awful.

Gimme grimey frog legs in snail sauce anytime over bland cooked meat in mint sauce served with lukewarm beer.

[Jos Theelen]

Old fashioned military thinking. In WW2 a fat soldier would have been an bad soldier. But these days a fat soldier has more chances when a bomb explodes nearby. And fat soldiers look more friendly for the local population.

[Siege]

And fat soldiers look more friendly for the local population.

That's true. I've seen the local civilian leadership go straight to the fat pog, and talk to him assuming he is the commander. Very funny to watch, especially when the fat pog is a private.