Military Personnel Using Extreme Measures for Weight Requirements

I always had an idea that there was some sort of weight requirement on US soldiers, but I never thought twice that it might be a problem that some had to resort to dangerous habits and even procedures to stick to that weight and BMI requirement. They risk losing their jobs if they don’t, after all, and not many of us can say that about our jobs except for people in these types of professions – or modeling!

I’m sure that if my job and livelihood and life were at risk because of my weight, I’d be resorting to some pretty risky stuff too before weigh ins and measurements were done just to keep my livelihood safe!

Apparently the threat of losing your post with the military is very real if you don’t meet their somewhat stringent requirements.  Over 20,000 people lost their posts because they didn’t meet these requirements in a relatively tight time period, so it’s a problem that not a lot of us are aware of.

I get it, I really do. They need these men and women to be at their best and most fit to serve the country and not put the lives of others or themselves in danger because they are out of shape or carrying too much body weight.  At the same time, it seems a shame that many in the military consider things like liposuction, laxatives and other dangeorus dieting habits to just make the weight and body fat goals.

It seems like there should be a better way to ensure fitness.  Maybe they could do periodic physicals and stress tests, like running or weight baring or something that tested someone’s actual fitness levels rather than relying on numbers. As we all know, numbers can vary widely based on a lot of things. Your gene pool, for one.  Your age for another, and you metabolism as well.

One good thing going for a lot of active duty officers and soldiers is that they are usually on the younger side, so at least they have father time on their side. We all can maintain a leaner, thinner physique when we are younger due to more abundant HGH (Human Growth Hormone) for weight loss on our side, and other factors like a higher metabolism and naturally more lean body mass (muscle).

The BMI measurement must be the reason for some soldeirs getting liposuction, because lipo does not take off a lot of weight, it just removes fat, which weighs very little. I’m guessing these people would be more interested in getting their BMI down, not their body weight.