Unfit and Sick Military

    

     A 2018 Rand report found that almost 66% of U.S. military personnel are either overweight or obese. Another glaring problem was inability to sleep. About 9% of the military reported taking medication to be able to sleep daily or almost daily. Lack of sleep was believed to be contributing to the common complaint of fatigue and lack of energy. 

     Sleep apnea, contributed to by weight gain, is an increasing problem in the military. It is believed that sleep problems are seriously impairing the ability of the military to do its job. One example of this impairment to the fatal collisions of the destroyers John S. McCain and Fitzgerald.

     Decline in the fitness of the military personnel has been noted and commented upon since World War I. There has been a continuous decline in physical fitness in both the general population and in the military since that time. The military has had to repeatedly reduce its physical fitness standards over the last 100 years.

    

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