Attention!!!

According to a 2006 National Research Council (NRC) report being overweight can pose a threat on National Security. The report cites that nearly 25% of all applicants are rejected from the military because he/ or she is too heavy to serve. Obesity not only affects individuals, families and communities it now affects the safety of our country. It’s slowly becoming a form of self inflicted terrorism; the antagonist being food laden in calories.

A team of Cornell researchers found that within one year’s time span from 2007 to 2008 incredible numbers of men and women were ineligible to serve due to poor health. Nearly six millions men and nearly three times that amount of women (16 million) who are old enough to serve in the military could NOT because he/ or she was vastly overweigh. In an effort to keep our country safe and replace military retirees, each military branch needs to recruit about 184,000 new personnel. Given the high number of unqualified applicants this process is becoming more and more difficult.

"Almost one in four applicants to the military are rejected for being overweight or obese – it's the most common reason for medical disqualification," study researcher John Cawley, an associate professor of policy analysis and management, said in a statement. "It is well-known that the military is struggling to recruit and retain soldiers. Having a smaller pool of men and women who are fit enough to serve adds to the strain and creates even more problems for national defense."

"It's another example of the underappreciated public consequences of obesity," Cawley said. "We tend to think of obesity as a personal, individual health problem. But the fact that U.S. military leaders view it as a threat to national security and military readiness shows its far-reaching impact."

Now that we know the gravity of the situation we need to adopt healthier lifestyles high in physical activity and low in high density foods. Physical activity plays an important role in reducing morbidity factors like heart disease and stroke. Reducing consumption in high energy foods means lowering daily caloric intake and controlling weigh. The safety of the Nation depends on it.