Posted on 05/01/2010 3:13:49 PM PDT by traumer
Rising rates of obesity among young Americans could undermine the future of the US military, two retired generals have warned.
More than a quarter of young Americans are now too fat to fight, they said.
Writing in the Washington Post, the ex-commanders said the fat crisis ruled out more potential military service recruits than any other medical factor.
They want Congress to introduce laws to give US children better nutrition in schools, with less sugar, salt and fat.
John Shalikashvili and Hugh Shelton, both former chairmen of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote: "Obesity rates threaten the overall health of America and the future strength of our military."
"We consider this problem so serious from a national security perspective that we have joined more than 130 other retired generals, admirals and senior military leaders in calling on Congress to pass new child nutrition legislation," the commanders added.
The warning comes amid mounting fears that childhood obesity has turned into an "epidemic" affecting an astonishing one in three young American people.
Mr Shalikashvili and Mr Shelton pointed to post-school lunch laws from 1946, which recognised that poor nutrition reduced the pool of military recruits.
"We must act, as we did after World War II, to ensure that our children can one day defend our country, if need be."
Obesity rates in the US have surged over the last year, according to one report .
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
Let’s see. Out President is a Kenyan Communist Muslim who sides with every enemy the US has against every ally the US ever had.
But the generals are worried that obesity in young people is going to restrict the USA’s ability to defend itself.
Hmmm....
That’s the way the Dems want it.
If they are liberal democrats, yes they could.
Because, as it is possible to stretch the interpretation of a tiny part of the Constitution so that it contradicts the entirety of the rest of the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist papers, the Anti-Federalist papers, the Articles of Confederation, the letters and memoirs of the Founders, and the entire historical and philosophical development of British and American Common Law, then, of course, you must submit your child for weighing and nutritional regulation to a federal bureaucrat, or face fines and prison.
Why not stop the welfare queens from buying junk food with their food stamp money. Their carts are loaded with a ton of it when I go grocery shopping. Stop schools from giving extra helpings, like my grandson schools does. He gained 13 lbs in 3 months because they let him eat what he wanted. Then charged the parents for it. Card swipe system.
Are they too fat for Obama’s new civilian army ?
How about bringing back Phy ed in schools? (and not that wussy crap they call Phy ed these days).
No one (well, almost no one) is so fat they can't be made a soldier. The obese may need an extra 6 weeks of basic training. Send them to fat camp, reduce their pay, since they are costing us more to train. When they are physically able to run a few miles, do pushups, situps, etc., then send them to the regular basic training, where they will start in the same king of physical condition as the average recruit. By the end of basic, they will be in good shape, and may even have improved their whole life by it.
Instead of fixing the problem individuals, the good little reds want to impose a solution on everyone--all children can only eat government approved foods. After all, they will be needed someday for Obama's brigades.
second one from “people of WalMart”?
In the inner cities of major metro areas, there are few to no grocery stores which sell adequate vegetables, fruit, and basic staples which people could prepare instead of high fat, high carbo, high salt food.
Note to retired Generals: There is no draft. Unfit youths aren’t likely to join our ALL VOLUNTEER military anyway. So, their condition is none of your business.
And, it isn’t the government’s job to decide how “fit” anybody should be, unless they are employed by the government and fitness is a prerequisite to their employment.
I guess the fat ones need to reflect on what John Stewart Mill said: “War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.”
Gee, I wonder why there is a shortage of grocery stores in the inner cities?
This story is a plant. Its purpose is to garner support for Obama’s takeover of Americans’ lives, in this case, their diet.
Basic training takes care of weight problems in a real big hurry.
Roll ‘em down the hill...
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