The air force weight and body fat management program

Army, ; U. Each service uses circumference measurements to estimate body composition and, until recently, each employed its own set of measurement equations. However, as of November , DOD has mandated a single circumference equation to be used across all the services for assessing percent body fat in men, and a different equation to be used in women.

In , the Navy adopted a maximum standard of 23 percent body fat for men and 34 percent for women Hodgdon, However, height and weight were the only measurements for which a great deal of epidemiological data were available Hodgdon, Ideally, more sophisticated body-fat measurements should augment the weight-for-height indices.

Setting accession standards has implications for recruiting. When the services set restrictions on recruitment eligibility based on weight-for-height and estimated percent body fat, they eliminate a portion of individuals who might otherwise qualify for service. Their analysis indicated that 13 to 18 percent of men and 17 to 43 percent of women in this age range exceeded the military standards.

The authors concluded that these data indicated a need for the military to reassess their standards. Perhaps a more appropriate conclusion particularly for long-term health would be to highlight the need for weight-gain prevention strategies targeted towards adolescents, particularly minority women.

Data from the — NHANES indicate that BMI continues to increase, with the most recent data indicating that the prevalence of overweight and obesity in all men over the age of 20 years has now increased to The retention standards are the maximum weights-for-height and percent body fat that military personnel are allowed to avoid referral to a weight-management program DOD, The current BMI retention standards for men and women for each military service are presented in Table The maximum allowable percentage of body fat for men ranges from 18 to 26 percent depending on service and age, while for women it ranges from 26 to 34 percent See Table Each of the services screens active duty personnel either annually or semiannually for fitness and compliance with weight-for-height standards.

Personnel may be screened several times a year in the course of medical examinations, physical fitness tests, or training school examinations.

Thus, personnel receive regular feedback on how well they meet the standards of weight-for-height. The consequences of these practices are clear. Additionally, 57 percent of active duty men and 25 percent of active duty women exceeded the newer overweight standard of 25, compared with 59 percent and 51 percent of civilian men and women, respectively Bray et al. Because the data from Bray and coworkers are self-reported rather than actual measurements, some bias may exist.

However, investigators who collected both self-reported data and actual measurements concluded that such biases were small. Moreover, the data of Bray and coworkers were taken from surveys completed anonymously and collected by personnel who were outside the military chain of command of the respondents.

Thus, these data most likely accurately portray the scope of the problem of overweight in the military services. One way to assess the impact of body-fat standards on the military is to look at the cost in terms of personnel management, namely the proportion of personnel enrolled in weight-management programs at any given time.

Assignment to these programs requires paperwork and other administrative costs and may involve lost duty time. As of December , 0. Data on weight-management programs recidivism or long-term success are not systematically compiled by any of the services, a situation that is, at least in part, intentional.

The services attempt to minimize the stigma associated with participation in these programs by purging records. Another way to assess the impact of body-fat standards on the military is to estimate their cost to the health care system. A different approach was reported by Robbins and colleagues , who examined anthropometrics, demographics, and health behaviors of 4, active duty Air Force men and women.

Unfortunately, the statistics on visits to military clinics for weight-related matters do not provide a complete picture. Military personnel are likely to enroll in commercial weight-reduction programs or to self-treat with supplements or over-the-counter medications rather than call attention to their weight, which invites possible disciplinary action or separation from the service with loss of benefits.

Diabetes, hypertension, and ischemic heart disease accounted for less than 1 percent of the visits made to ambulatory care clinics by active duty personnel in Thus, since the military is made up predominately of young, healthy individuals who exercise with some regularity, it appears that they are far more likely to suffer musculoskeletal injuries than they are to present health problems associated with obesity.

Eating disorders have been widely studied among civilian women and among select groups of men e. Gross disturbances in eating behavior characterize the conditions of anorexia nervosa currently seen in 1 to 2 percent of females in the general population, and bulimia nervosa, which has a prevalence of 1 to 3 percent in this population. Both disorders have a female-to-male ratio of occurrence of Another category of eating disorders, known as not otherwise specified NOS , has been reported in the literature to occur in 3 to 35 percent of the population.

The need to maintain weight-for-height and body composition standards does place pressure on military personnel, particularly those who may find themselves in more sedentary occupations after completing initial entry and advanced individual training. The military policy of testing personnel annually or semi-annually can lead to undesirable and potentially unhealthy practices. For example, Peterson and coworkers examined the incidence of bulimic weight-loss behaviors in individuals in a military weight-management program, a civilian weight-loss program, and military personnel not in a weight-loss program.

Military personnel in a weight-management program engaged in significantly more bulimic behaviors than either of the other two groups. Behaviors such as vomiting, strenuous exercise, and use of saunas or steam rooms was four times more common in those assigned to the military weight-management program. These results are more notable in that this group of individuals was predominantly male 65 percent.

In a series of studies of Navy personnel and of military women in all services, McNulty used the Stanford Eating Disorders Questionnaire with active-duty Navy nurses McNulty, a , 1, active-duty Navy men The existence of eating disorders was found to be wide-spread in the Navy nurses, even among normal-weight women within the standard of 30 percent body fat. The prevalence of bulimia nervosa was Among the top five reasons given by these women for engaging in these practices were: being overweight, command morale, and maintaining the Navy fitness standards.

Among Navy men, While the use of diuretics, vomiting, diet pills, laxatives, and fasting all had a 2 to 4 percent prevalence under normal conditions binge eating at 14 percent , these behaviors increased to a prevalence of 14 to 15 percent at the time of weigh-ins and fitness testing binge eating at 26 percent. The top four reasons for engaging in these behaviors were: feeling overweight, rotating shifts, shipboard assignments, and no time allowed for physical fitness except during off-duty hours McNulty, b.

In another study focused on women in all branches of the service McNulty, , data were gathered from Army women, Navy women, Air Force women, and Marine Corps women.

For the combined sample of 1, service women, the prevalence of eating disorders was 1. Marine Corps women scored significantly higher for all disorders than women in other service branches, although they had the lowest reported percent body fat Of the Marine Corps women surveyed, The prevalence of use of various purging behaviors across the services are shown in Table The top five reasons given for engaging in these types of behaviors were: competitiveness for advancement, concern for weight, being forced into a weight-control program, being harassed by supervisors for weight, and for Marine Corps women—lack of availability of low-fat meals.

Clearly, these types of behaviors, coupled with the high prevalence of amenorrhea, could have significant long-term health implications for military women. The impact of body-fat standards on the military also can be assessed in terms of the separation of personnel. In , almost 1. The data of Lindquist and Bray suggest that 54 percent of active duty personnel are in danger of being assigned to a weight-control program, and some of these may be at risk of separation from the service due to overweight based on self-reported BMIs.

As shown in Table , over 4, individuals were discharged from the military for being overweight in , but the numbers show a steady decline. A large part of the decline is due to the Navy's decision to halt discharges for overweight.

Navy personnel who fail to meet the standards are now allowed to serve out their current term of enlistment, but they are not permitted to re-enlist. In , total early separations for persistent failure to meet weight and body composition standards totaled just over 1, individuals. This is approximately 0.

The past decade has brought considerable progress in developing new technologies efforts that were funded substantially by DOD and scientifically sound methods of assessing body fat and setting appropriate weight and body-fat standards in support of the military's body composition, fitness, and readiness goals. DOD-wide uniformity in the use of these methodologies and standards is being sought to promote maximum objectivity and fairness to service members across the four services.

In addition, this policy also mandates the implementation of a single circumferential equation to estimate percent body fat for men and one for women to be used by all the services. The weight and body-fat standards of the military services were predicated on the need for the highest level of physical performance in adverse environments, and to a lesser degree on the image that the individual may convey of the military.

These standards theoretically take precedent even when individuals demonstrate an ability to perform their assigned tasks in an exceptional manner. There are a number of problems created by these standards. First, many occupational specialties of today's military services do not require demanding physical performance and, in fact, may foster adverse changes in body composition due to their sedentary nature. Second, there is a high cost for recruiting, training, and assimilating individuals with needed skills into some highly technical positions.

Third, the pool of potential applicants is small during good economic times. Finally, once trained by the military, many of these individuals in critical career fields can find higher-paying jobs in the civilian community where their body composition presents no problem.

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As always, consider consulting a doctor before starting any new fitness regime. How strict is the Air Force on weight? Interested in Joining the Military?

Show Full Article. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. You May Also Like. My Profile News Home Page. Under the AWCP, you will be required to weigh-in at least once every six months. This may be done at the same time as your Army physical fitness test. In most cases, failing to pass the Army's minimum weight or body-fat percentage standards will make you ineligible for promotion, transfer, reenlistment or opportunities to attend professional schools.

View the current AWCP height for weight chart. The following chart shows the maximum allowable body-fat percentage:. Army Weight Control Charts. If you exceed the Army's body-fat percentage requirements, you will receive an official letter stating that you will be placed on a weight monitoring program. The program will require you to lose a specific number of pounds per month.

You also will receive personal counseling to help you develop a fitness and nutrition routine to help you reach your weight loss goals. Losing weight requires a commitment to a healthy diet and a regular workout routine. Stew Smith, Military. Check out the following links to reach your fitness and weight-loss goals:. Visit his Fitness eBook store if you're looking to start a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle.

Send your fitness questions to stew stewsmith. Whether you're thinking of joining the military, looking for fitness and basic training tips, or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.