Most Canadian Forces Personnel Overweight Or Obese

A recent report indicates that many Canadian soldiers have a couch potato physique. I guess that 6am runs are no longer the norm.

Canadian Forces personnel are getting fatter, more sedentary in their work, less physically active and becoming heavier drinkers, according to a new military study.

The Health and Lifestyle Information Survey also found that members are still reluctant to seek out mental health services for fear it will hurt their military careers, despite several new Defence initiatives to reduce the stigma of doing so.

The document, which surveyed about 3,700 full-time Forces members for the 2008-2009 period, found there was a three per cent increase in the number of obese people since the last survey in 2004, even with a renewed push on fitness promotion.

Almost 29 per cent were of normal weight, while 48 per cent were overweight and an alarming 23.5 per cent were deemed obese.

"The study results certainly indicate to us that, like the rest of the Canadian population, we’re not immune to this epidemic of obesity," Col. Colin MacKay, the military’s director of health protection, said Tuesday from Ottawa.

"We’re also, though, identifying that there are a good number of members interested in trying to take steps to improve their health and to take steps to increase their levels of physical activity and improve their nutrition."

The survey, which was recently posted on the National Defence website, doesn’t offer explanations for the numbers but suggests that inadequate physical fitness, poor diets and sedentary jobs are to blame.

By: Shelldrake