In anticipation of Veterans Day, members of the national security nonprofit Mission: Readiness released a report today highlighting the fact that childhood obesity and a general lack of physical fitness among children and young adults in California pose a very real threat to national security. Weight problems have become the leading medical reason why young adults are unable to serve in the military, with one in four young adults in both California and nationwide too overweight to join. Overall, weight problems, poor educational achievement, involvement in serious crime and other problems keep an estimated 75 percent of young Americans from being able to enlist.
Press release
Read the report–Unfit to Fight: A Report on California
California 9th Grade Obesity & Poor Aerobic Capacity Data Sheet
