Wow! https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/too-fat-to-fight-pentagon-grapples-with-obesity-epidemic
The report that 71% of men between 18 and 24 are too fat to enlist seems staggeringly high. If we extrapolate from 50% twenty years ago, the number would reach 100% by 2050 -- except for that one skinny guy in Idaho, but he's a pacifist.
Other factors that are excluding potential recruits include being inadequately educated and drug abuse. https://strongnation.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/484/389765e0-2500-49a2-9a67-5c4a090a215b.pdf?1539616379&inline;%20filename=%22Unhealthy%20and%20Unprepared%20report.pdf%22
I remember reading or hearing (can't remember which...) a few years ago that the obesity epidemic was going to become a national security issue. It didn't sound entirely outlandish, but I felt like the problem was overstated. I guess we now have some more info that proves the prognostication was correct.
2nd post in! It seems the obesity epidemic is one of the biggest symptoms of consumerism culture out there, there is a reason why food joints now try to obsessively decorate themselves more than ever.
Even McD's is starting to up their aesthetics game. The new and remodeled ones in my area look less like the defacto day care centers they used to be and more like tv set versions of coffee shops.
Most police departments don't have height and weight standards. Some might think that's a bad thing, but an initial physical test along with annual or biannual testing is usually sufficient for making sure that officers are physically capable of doing their jobs. You'd be surprised at how many overweight people happen to be athletic. Many departments have also switched to task-based physical fitness testing. These are usually obstacle courses. I see that the military is starting to do something similar.