Obesity in Americans will present a problem if the United States military has to recruit substantial numbers of young men and women into the armed forces quickly, according to researchers at the University of Buffalo and the Johns Hopkins University.

At least 13 percent of young men and 17 percent of young women of prime recruitment age (between the ages of 17 and 20) would fail the weight requirements of all four branches of the service, according to a report in The American Journal of Medicine.

"This study shows that obesity is not just a public health issue, it's a national security concern as well," said Carols Crespo, Dr. PH, associate professor of social and preventive medicine at the University of Buffalo and co-author of the study. "We're not physically fit to defend ourselves."

Military weight limits are even more strict for women than men in all of the armed services, making it more difficult for women to enter the military and, if they do get in, to stay within weight limits without jeopardizing their health.

Weight limits for men are set high enough to include two-thirds of overweight men based on national standards, while weight limits for women exclude normal-weight potential recruits, based on the same standards, according to the researchers.

Prior research has shown that 72 percent of women in the military met the diagnostic criteria for having an eating disorder. For women in the Marines the number is as high as 97.5 percent.

"Why the women have to be a lot thinner than the men is a good question," said Crespo. "There is not a lot of science behind those weight standards."

Researchers compared the weights of young people participating in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted from 1988 to 1994 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The comparison using military weight allowances showed that many potential recruits would fail the weight test. The percentage of young adults overall who would be ineligible because of their weight ranged from 13 to 18 percent for men and 17 to 43 percent for women.

Analysis by race and sex showed significant differences. African-American men had a weight ineligibility of 11 to 19 percent, but 35 to 56 percent of African-American women were over the weight limits. For Caucasians, 15 to 20 percent of men and 12 to 36 percent of women would be ineligible. For Mexican-Americans, 13 to 24 percent of men and 26 to 55 percent of women would be ineligible because of their weight.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg," said Crespo. "The study didn't take into account how many of those who are eligible have other conditions related to poor lifestyles, such as high blood pressure, diabetes or high blood cholesterol, not to mention those who never exercise or are heavy smokers."

"Being physically fit is not just a public health issue," continued Crespo. "As a society, we need to be physically prepared to respond to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, or any other emergency."

Other sources: University of Buffalo