I just stumbled upon an interesting, if controversial, article released by the Associated Press back in 2005 titled "Are U.S. Troops Too Fat to Fight?" The most ironic part of discovering this article was that I came across it while researching fitness regimens on the Military.com website. Despite the grueling physical and mental training many men and women in the service undergo, our soldiers, on average, carry more body fat than they ever have before.

Does this mean that the U.S. military has gone soft on recruits? It's just the opposite, actually; many recruits have gone soft on the U.S. military. The country, as a whole, is fatter than its ever been, and many new enlistees are going into basic training already carrying too much weight.

According to a related article on Military.com, 20 percent of all male recruits and 40 percent of female recruits are too heavy to enter into the military ranks. As a result, some are failing out for not meeting minimal fitness standards, and others are just barely squeezing by (and, by their own volition, using extreme and dangerous methods to bring about rapid weight loss -- i.e. skipping meals, fasting, taking laxatives, etc.). In turn, recruits who barely make it through boot camp are still called upon to perform the same duties and tasks as their fitter counterparts, though they may not be physically able to keep up.

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