Army Physical Fitness Paper

This paper focuses on obesity and physical fitness in the United States Army. The corps of Non-Commissioned Officers is entirely responsible for maintaining the fitness of their Soldiers and currently they are failing their Soldiers and the Army. Obesity is on the rise in the U.S. Army and something needs to change. Topics such as removal of fast food chains from Army posts and education about personal health and fitness are some of the areas discussed in this paper.
Obesity and Physical Fitness in the United States Army
Why is obesity in the Military on the rise? A question Army leaders ask themselves daily. Leaders want to know why their Soldiers are gaining weight and doing poorly on physical fitness tests. Some causes of this epidemic …show more content…
This paper doesn’t suggest removal of systems currently in place, but rather a more personalized fitness regimen for Soldiers with similar physical goals or issues. Currently Soldiers throughout the Force are required to participate in two physical fitness (PT) session a day due to either Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) failure or Height and Weight failure. These Soldiers of course need extra help, but why is two PT sessions a day not the standard for every Soldier? If more time was allotted for Soldiers to do PT daily there wouldn’t be as many people currently on the Remedial PT Program. If a Soldier demonstrates their ability to perform PT on their own they should be allowed to take part in a second PT session at some point during the day. Often Soldiers do not take part in PT on their own time because they have families and other obligations outside of work which prevents them from working out at the gym or going on a run when they leave for the day. Allowing Soldiers, the ability to do some sort of rigorous physical activity during work would absolutely increase the level of physical fitness throughout the