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US military recruiters have a big fat problem: "Almost one in four applicants to the military are rejected for being overweight," says a Cornell researcher. Some 6 million men and 17 million women were rejected as too porky for combat between 2007 and 2008, reports LiveScience. It's the No. 1 reason that applicants are disqualified, and top brass fear it will gut our military readiness.
So what are the standards? The US Marine Corps, for example, requires that a 5'10" male aged 21-30 not exceed 222 pounds or 18% body fat and that a 5'5" female aged 21-27 not exceed 153 pounds or 26% body fat. Over the past half-century, the number of men exceeding such standards has doubled and the number of women has tripled. Read the full article.
