DoD overhauls its body composition and fitness policy
By Rachel Nostrant
Mar 21, 08:55 AM
Misty Carman, a nurse educator at Naval Hospital Jacksonville’s Wellness Center, used a body analyzer scale, which estimates body composition (including body fat, lean mass, bone mass, and water content), and resting metabolic rate, May 13, 2019. (Jacob Sippel/Naval Hospital Jacksonville).
The Defense Department updated its physical fitness and body composition program guidelines March 10. The changes open the door for each military branch to revamp their own policies if they so choose, a move that the services have been consistently working toward in recent years.
The latest update to DoD instruction 1308.03, which comes on the heels of ongoing studies from the Marine Corps and the Army, eliminated much of the department’s restrictive language originally featured in the program. The update generalizes its goals to allow the branches to tailor their guidelines to the needs of their service members and missions as much as possible.
“Body composition may be evaluated using either Body Fat calculations, waist-to-height ratio, abdominal circumference, height-weight screening, or any combination thereof,” the regulation now reads, as long as service members still meet certain criteria under each option.
https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-military/2022/03/21/dod-overhauls-its-body-composition-and-fitness-policy/
