{"id":9872,"date":"2022-09-28T16:44:05","date_gmt":"2022-09-28T20:44:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acsmsoftware.com\/afitesttest\/?p=9872"},"modified":"2022-09-28T16:44:05","modified_gmt":"2022-09-28T20:44:05","slug":"physical-activity-healthy-weight-national-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acsmsoftware.com\/afitesttest\/physical-activity-healthy-weight-national-security\/","title":{"rendered":"Physical Activity, Healthy Weight, and National Security"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Sports Illustrated subscribers thumbed through the final issue of 1960, they encountered the usual assortment of sporting news. Bart Starr led the Packers past the Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Indiana men\u2019s basketball team continued their winning ways, breezing by Missouri and Nevada on the shoulders of Walt Bellamy. But the sportswriters were overshadowed by someone more famous, the President-elect of the United States.<\/p>\n

In \u201cThe Soft American,\u201d an op-ed<\/a> as provocative as its title, John F. Kennedy railed against the declining physical fitness of the American people. He warned that vehicle-focused transportation and television-focused recreation were displacing the active pursuits of an earlier age. After championing the link between physical activity and mental health, he wrote that \u201cphysical fitness is as vital to the activities of peace as to those of war.\u201d But Kennedy\u2019s primary focus was national security: our nation must be physically prepared to meet the demands of armed conflict.<\/p>\n

Six decades on, how are we doing?<\/h3>\n

To investigate how the nation is doing 60 years later, we partnered with American College of Sports Medicine members who have expertise in military medicine. We used data collected from January 2015 through March 2020 by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to assess the physical preparedness of the US civilian population. NHANES<\/a> provides information about the health of Americans through a combination of personal interviews and direct physical examination.<\/p>\n

We found<\/a> that only 47% of the military-aged population (17\u201342 years) had a body mass index (BMI) within the eligible range for military entrance (19.0\u201327.5 kg\/m2<\/sup>). Unlike previous studies of physical preparedness, we did not limit the investigation to height and weight, because an eligible BMI does not guarantee a person will be ready for the physical demands of initial military training. Lower amounts of physical activity before training are associated with higher rates of musculoskeletal injury during training and medical discharge from training. These are costly outlays\u2014to the individual and to the armed forces.<\/p>\n

Therefore, we also determined the proportion of people getting adequate physical activity in the military-aged population. We defined adequate physical activity as reporting the equivalent of at least 300 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity. (This corresponds to the \u201chighly active\u201d category of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition<\/a>, and is similar to the US Army recommendations<\/a> for physical activity before entering initial military training.) Using this definition, we found that 28% of the BMI-eligible population were not adequately physically active.<\/p>\n

Taken together, only 34% of people aged 17\u201342 years were both weight-eligible and adequately physically active\u2014what we termed \u201celigible and active.\u201d Among those aged 17\u201324 years, who account for the majority of military applicants, the proportion of eligible and active was marginally higher at 41%. In other words, according to our definitions, just two in five young Americans were physically prepared for the rigors of initial military training. Further, we found disparities in the proportion eligible and active by sex, race\/ethnicity, educational attainment, and family income level.<\/p>\n

What can be done?<\/h3>\n

In the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s (CDC) Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, we are working with partners to create a more active America. Active People, Healthy NationSM<\/sup>, CDC\u2019s national physical activity initiative, aims to help 27 million Americans become more active by 2027. The initiative promotes seven evidence-based strategies<\/a> to increase physical activity. Providing equitable and inclusive access is foundational to each strategy.<\/p>\n

Everyone can be involved. From education to transportation to parks and recreation, we have tools and resources available to help people in different sectors take action to encourage physical activity. For example, people working in the education sector<\/a> could develop activity-friendly policies that facilitate student physical activity before, during, and after school. Considering that most military enlistees in 2030 are currently in elementary or middle school, these policies have the potential for near-term ripple effects on military recruitment.<\/p>\n

One strategy we support is building activity-friendly routes to everyday destinations. This strategy focuses on creating sidewalks, bicycle lanes, and paths that connect to common places such as parks, shops, grocery stores, and houses of worship. Activity-friendly communities have many benefits. They promote cleaner environments and stronger local economies. And they support healthier Americans\u2014some of whom will volunteer to serve as our nation\u2019s next generation of soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, and guardians.<\/p>\n

Three weeks before assuming the presidency, JFK sized up the nation\u2019s physical fitness and found it wanting. Get active, he urged. Expand participation in youth sports, promote walking and bicycling to school, encourage the pursuit of a vigorous life. Despite progress in some areas and regression in others, his diagnosis and prescription endure. If you agree that physical inactivity remains \u201ca matter of urgent concern,\u201d consider staying connected<\/a> with us through Active People, Healthy NationSM<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

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Additional Resources<\/h4>\n