Navy eases body fat standards in effort to retain sailors

World Magazine ^ | Posted March 14, 2016, | Michael Cochrane

[Retain Mike]

Navy Petty Officer Lentoyi White, 26, feared she’d be dismissed from the service after twice failing the Navy’s body composition assessment (BCA), which measures body fat percentage. But in January, the Navy loosened its body fat restrictions for both men and women, giving White and thousands of other sailors another chance to stay in the Navy.

“I am very grateful for a second chance with this new policy,” said White, a single mother with a 5-year-old daughter. White has gone from 212 pounds to 188 and is optimistic she’ll pass this spring under the new standards.

Under the Navy’s previous standards, sailors had three chances to pass the BCA before being considered for dismissal. But now, the 2,400 sailors who failed all three will get another shot to pass the BCA under the new standards this spring.

[ichabod1]

African-American women by nature have higher body fat, the current rules was racss.

[Vermont Lt]

She is down from 200+ pounds? What the hell? Is she eight feet tall? Because there is no health chart on earth that indicates that has “healthy.”

[gundog]

A few years back there was a call to review all PTSD cases. My Congresscritter,and the bum’s, Pete DeFazio, squashed it.

[vpintheak]

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!

[Dilbert San Diego]

Who’s in immediate command of these women?When they start to pork up,drop the hammer on them.PT,PT,and yet more PT until they’re back in shape.Did you see the picture of those water buffalos jogging?That’s what I call letting things get way out of hand.

---

Yep, good point. Don’t they do regular weigh ins and have regular physical checks up? If not they should. Plus, aren’t they frequently working out and going on training exercises and such?

Sounds like an issue which could be nipped in the bud, if they did some work on this on a regular basis.

[Retain Mike]

And somehow that would be a bad thing? A meritocracy designed to defeat an enemy would not want these people to begin with. A meritocracy would be attractive to those would pursue exellence, but that is no longer an option for a DOD committed to equal opportunity. I now tell young men to avoid trhe military

[miliantnutcase]

So do they have to revise the gross tonnage on their ships or decrease the crew complements? ;-)

[kitchen]

Good Lord! Don’t send them to Guam ... it might tip over.

[Chainmail]

Just freak’n brilliant: nothing says “military professional” like obesity.

At least now it will be easier to counter a list by simply telling all the sailors to move to the opposite side of the ship.

[ichabod1]

I just hope when we turn around we can still find some noncoms that still remember how it’s supposed to be done.

[seawolf101]

[ichabod1]

[PLMerite]

“They are probably lowering the standards to make room for the fat lesbian sailors.”

First thing that popped into my mind, too.

[Nevadan]

re: The Navy’s old policy allowed for 22 percent body fat for males ages 17-39, and 33 percent body fat for females ages 17-39. The new standards increase the maximums to 26 percent for men and 36 percent for women, but those percentages are considered by many health experts to be in the obese category. According to the American Council on Exercise, a man with more than 25 percent body fat is considered obese. For women, 32 percent body fat counts as obese.

So the previous standards already allowed obese soldiers to remain in the service. Now that the standards have been lowered even more, it is at absurdity levels. BTW, my insurance, (before the Obamacare assault which significantly decreased what it cover,) used to pay for weight loss treatment (not surgery) for a woman with a body fat percentage of 30% because it considered that level to be obese and unhealthy. Yet our military, which we expect to defend us, welcomes into its ranks people who are unfit and incapable of defending our country if they had to.

[PLMerite]

“We’ll lose all future conflicts, but hey, the feminazis will be happy...”

Unless it’s really critical, then we’ll go nuclear sooner.

[xrmusn]

I never paid a lot of ‘serious attention’ to this syndrome since when it first started ‘they’ claimed M Jordan was ‘fat’.

I kind of took it like the ‘Clean Air People’ all jetting to some tropic isle in their individual jets and living in 6 star hotels.

If they were to row or kayak to the destination and live ‘off the land’ I may put some stock in what they are claiming.

I put off claiming my tinnitus for years as I just believed it was a ‘cost of doing business’ but - like the other poster said about the phonies taking up space - after the ‘Stolen Valor’ situation came to light just figured I was a ‘patsy’ while all the phonies were racking up the bennies etc.

[Rusty0604]

Two hundred and twelve pounds! And she’s happy she’s at one hundred eighty-eight now? Unless she’s six foot tall that still sounds heavy to me.

[Rusty0604]

And those people, walking sis by side in an aisle or on a sidewalk, never step aside to let someone pass. Rude!

[Eagles6]

We’re doomed.

[Retain Mike]

As Eagles6 said, "We're doomed".