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Report: Nearly 1 in 3 Young Adults in Kansas, Nationwide Too Fat to Join Military

(Image credit: NPR/Stockphoto.com)
(Image credit: NPR/Stockphoto.com)

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A new report from a group of retired military leaders says the nation's obesity epidemic is causing significant recruiting problems for the military. One in three young adults nationwide is too fat to enlist. The report released today (WED) by a group calling itself Mission: Readiness is promoting healthy school lunches to combat the problem. It notes 29 percent of teenagers in Kansas are overweight. Obesity is among the leading causes of military ineligibility among people ages 17 to 24. Others are a lack of adequate education, a criminal history or drug use. All those put together mean 71 percent of Kansans are ineligible for military service. The military has also seen a 61 percent rise in obesity since 2002 among active duty forces, driving up health care and other costs.

The AP is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, as a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members, it can maintain its single-minded focus on newsgathering and its commitment to the highest standards of objective, accurate journalism.