More than two-thirds of reserve troops are overweight: Report
By Leo Shane III
Apr 24, 2025, 02:08 PM
Soldiers with the Army Reserve's 75th Training Command participate in a run as part of a physical fitness test in Houston, Texas, on April 21, 2017. (Lt. Col. Adam Collett/Army Reserve)
More than two-thirds of Guard and Reserve troops are overweight, potentially limiting their readiness and ability to deploy in support of national security, according to a new study released by the American Security Project this week.
“With the diminished size of the [active-duty] force and increasing demands on the National Guard and reserves, service members separated due to obesity and its comorbidities are vital personnel the Armed Forces cannot afford to lose,” researchers wrote in the report.
The study, which calls for new policies to ensure those troops’ health, comes one day after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared during a speech at the Army War College that all military personnel “need to be fit, not fat,” echoing his past demands for more rigorous personnel standards.
https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2025/04/24/more-than-two-thirds-of-reserve-troops-are-overweight-report/
