Almost 80 Percent of Americans Aged 17 to 24 Unfit for Military Service. By Autumn Spredemann.

In September 2022, a U.S. Army general bluntly said that young Americans are either too obese, too sick, or too criminal to serve in the military. …

77 percent of Americans between the ages of 17 and 24 are unqualified physically to enter the armed forces. That’s a 6 percent increase from 2017 …

One of the major hurdles recruiters now face is obesity, which has become a dominant health challenge for Americans. As of 2020, the prevalence of obesity in the adult population hit nearly 42 percent.

In addition, research shows that government food subsidies are a significant contributing factor. One 2022 study found a link between receiving food assistance and a greater chance of becoming obese through the consumption of unhealthy foods. …

Subsidized crops are turned into highly processed foods with little to no nutritional benefit … Ultra-processed foods directly contribute to obesity, according to a 2022 health report. … It’s simply cheaper to eat junk than it is to eat healthier food. …

Research from Utah State University shows that healthy dietary guideline examples from MyPlate would cost a family of four upward of $14,400 annually. By comparison, the average middle-income family spends an estimated $6,224 on food each year. Low-income families spend even less, at around $3,862 per year. …

Irina Tsukerman, a security analyst and the owner of Scarab Rising, .. said high obesity rates have narrowed the recruiting pool considerably, coupled with “falling intelligence and education standards.”

Just as well your engineers are building autonomous robots. Oh wait, maybe not. Skynet smiles.

hat-tip Stephen Neil