Not on food stamps, but I went to sign up with national guard after 9/11. I live in NYC.
5 11, 240 pounds. They said too heavy.
I stopped boxing only maybe 4 years earlier so i was still plenty strong and it seems knocking 40 pounds off in a strict 2 month military program would be worth the addition of someone who’s in otherwise good condition.
It would be two months of discipline before training too.
I was that weight and height but lost 60 lbs. to be at my weight watchers lifetime goal weight of 179 lbs, same as my senior year high school football weight.
It took nearly three years and I have been at goal now for 4 years.
People have no clue about, weight, weight loss and obesity. Neither do most nutrition scientists.
Incidentally, only 20% of Weight Watchers reach goal. And fewer than 25% of them (less than 5% of the total participants) maintain goal after five years. And Weight Watchers is one of the few valid programs.
In short, Americas obesity pandemic is not going to be fixed. It will only exponentially increase.
Read a while back that they were going to change the weight requirements for those who were mostly muscle (not blubber) because muscle weighs more. Haven’t heard of any changes in that regard.