The US Military's Battle With Obesity

The prevalence of obesity continues to rise among youth and adults in the US and the US military. The US military is negatively impacted by the nation's growing waistline, with drastic reductions in eligible recruits, increasing risks for compromised physical endurance and performance, and ballooning health care costs. This perspective discusses the effects of the obesity epidemic on the US military, previous and continuing research and programming initiatives, the progress made to increase access to healthy foods, and opportunities for future directions in research and practice to combat the obesity epidemic.