Weighing the Threat: Overweight and Obesity Overweight and obesity are common health conditions that occur when your weight exceeds a healthy range. As a Warfighter, maintaining a healthy weight is about more than just the number on the scale. Your career relies on your ability to act and recover quickly in day-to-day operations, yet having excess body weight can hinder your performance in any environment. Extra weight also forces your body to work harder to sustain itself, which may lead to additional health problems. How Do I Know If My Weight Is in a Healthy Range? Overweight and obesity are often determined by body mass index (BMI), which is a measure based on your height and weight. While BMI is an effective estimate for most people, it doesn’t account for muscle mass or fat distribution. Having excess fat in your abdomen, even with a normal BMI, raises your risk of health problems associated with overweight and obesity. Therefore, waist circumference is also sometimes used to assess body fat percentage and diagnose these health conditions. If you don’t know your BMI, use this calculator from the National Institutes of Health. What causes Overweight and Obesity? There are a variety of factors contributing to overweight and obesity – some you can control and others you cannot. Most commonly, weight gain is caused by an energy imbalance. This occurs when you consume more calories than you burn, so your body stores the extra nutrients as fat. Though total calorie intake matters, so does the type of food you eat. Consuming high amounts of saturated fat and added sugars also raises your risk of weight gain. Overweight and obesity are sometimes linked to non-nutrition related factors, such as poor stress management, not getting enough high-quality sleep and being physically inactive. Your environment, genetics, taking certain medications and having other health conditions play a role, as well. How Does This Impact Health and Readiness? Being overweight or obese increases inflammation throughout your body. Over time, this stress damages your cells and increases your risk for additional health problems. Excess weight is linked to heart disease, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. It’s also associated with sleep apnea, asthma and a variety of mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Additionally, those with overweight or obesity are at higher risk of musculoskeletal injuries (MSKIs), like plantar fasciitis, arthritis and low back pain. These health conditions affect your ability to perform physically and mentally, especially if you have more than one. As a Warfighter, this translates to more lost duty days and decreased operational capability. You may also face additional challenges leading up to deployment or be reassigned to different job duties. Further, Warfighters who are overweight or obese are often required to complete extra physical training to improve their health and weight status. For anyone seeking to join the military, having overweight or obesity automatically disqualifies you from service. How Do I Maintain a Healthy Weight? In most cases, the best way to manage weight is through healthy lifestyle behaviors. You may find it helpful to record specific behaviors and goals in a journal or an app on your phone. Tracking your progress boosts motivation and accountability. It also allows you to identify barriers and celebrate your successes!b Follow a balanced eating plan: Aim to eat a variety of heart-healthy foods, including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, dairy and protein. Consider using the DASH eating plan to structure your meals or try simple recipe swaps to boost your nutrient intake. How many calories you consume must align with your body’s energy needs to reach your weight management goals. If you’re trying to lose weight, you’ll need to burn more calories than you take in over time. Get physically active: It’s recommended to perform at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity each week. Meeting or exceeding this target increases your daily calorie burn, which supports weight management. Engaging in muscle-strengthening activities 2 or more days each week is also linked to better health and body composition. Prioritize sleep: Adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep per 24-hour period. Getting enough sleep regulates your hormones and improves your body’s ability to process energy, leading to increased calorie burn and weight control. Build a healthy sleep routine to ensure you get the high-quality rest you need. If you have health conditions or take medications that interfere with your body’s metabolism (e.g., make it hard to lose weight), talk to your care team about other treatment options. They may suggest behavioral programs, medicines or procedures that support your weight loss goals. Overweight and obesity in the military are a major threat to the mission. Yet, more than half of Warfighters are overweight or obese and rates keep rising. Preserve your health and readiness by monitoring your weight status and prioritizing healthy lifestyle behaviors. Additional ResourcesWarfighter Wellness - “Healthy Weight: Nutrition for Weight Loss”Warfighter Wellness - “Intuitive Eating: Connecting Feeling to Food”Warfighter Wellness - “Keeping Up with Cardio: Tips for Consistency”Warfighter Wellness - “Stay FITT: How to Build a Workout Plan for Beginners”Warfighter Wellness - “Understanding Your Relationship to Food”ReferencesCenters for Disease Control and Prevention - “Tips for Maintaining Healthy Weight”Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - “Unfit to Serve”Knapik JJ et al. - “The Medical Burden of Obesity and Overweight in the US Military: Association of BMI with Clinically Diagnosed Medical Conditions in United States Military Service Members”National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - “Causes and Risk Factors”National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - “Management”National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - “Treatment”National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases - “m I at a Healthy Weight?”
