US (Washington Insider Magazine) – A recently published study shows that the number of US soldiers identified as overweight or obese increased significantly during the Covid-19 pandemic, with nearly 25% of military members designated as obese.
According to the study published in BMC Public Health, in conjunction with the National Institutes of Public Health, data collected from approximately 192,000 active duty service members over a nine-month period of the pandemic revealed that 50.5% of US soldiers were overweight, while that 23.2% “were obese.”
73.7% of US soldiers were classified as obese or overweight during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to results from BMC Public Health.
In addition, it was noted that the US Army experienced “significant public health and preparedness issues” due to the increased weight of most active duty members of the nation’s Army.
The study of members of the US Army used the military health system data repository to conduct the retrospective study.
The body mass index of US soldiers was documented from February 2019 to January 2020, as well as from September 2020 to June 2021.
As a result, the researchers were able to see a difference between the body mass index of soldiers before the Covid-19 pandemic and after.
“Based on the results of this study and the literature, increases in BMI among Army soldiers are likely to continue unless there is intervention,” the report explained.
Before the pandemic, about 68% of US soldiers had an unhealthy body mass index, the study adds, noting that after the pandemic, nearly 74% of soldiers were found to have an unhealthy body mass index. healthy.
The calculation of the body mass index is the method that the Army usually uses to estimate the body fat of a soldier.
While the number of soldiers identified as overweight or obese was already rising before the pandemic, the study found that the pandemic lockdowns likely contributed to an even larger increase in overweight members of the Army.
The most significant change was found in junior soldiers, ages 20 to 24, according to the study.
This article is originally published on eldiariony.com
