Considering Evolution, should the body fat standards be relaxed across the U.S. Military?

1. Build performance standards based on combat. 2. Enforce these standards. 3. Who cares what bodyfat % people have?

The standards of fat are irrelevant as long as the person can do the job. My body type categorized me as obese in the Marines, yet I was running marathons.

The standards are based on actuarial tables from the 1940s and 50s, and are way off base. The most fit sailors/soldiers often have difficult times with the old tape measure because of muscle mass.

The standards do need to be adjusted for mission needs, and perhaps not worry quite so much about "Pride and Professionalism". I'm not sure that program really benefited the fleet anyway...

One of my best buddies up in Minot got washed out of the force because he failed composition. He was solid muscle. Was a 60 gunner & could carry it like it was a piece of paper. I'll never understand that portion of the AFPT.

Healthy Troops are less expensive Troops. Higher (Actual) bodyfat leads to increases in health concerns.

I don't care what someone actually weighs. I do care what their bodyfat % might be however, because that is a health indicator.

That said, the BMI and current tape test isn't accurate (it's decent, but not great). But it's also a secondary test.

Edit: Spelling

IMO, since color, race, or gender have proven to have no bearing on doing your job then perhaps weight should be omitted as well. We are looking at combat effectiveness factors. If you can PT to the standards, do your job and be overweight then what's the problem? If you can't fit in your tank then perhaps reclassification to the needs of the service is in order (you may get another job or you may get booted). Appearance has no factor except in Hollywood and recruiting posters and what is considered professional is qualitative, not quantitative like the current fat tests.

If we are concerned about health then perhaps we should set alcohol, tobacco and junk food consumption standards as well. That all said, we signed the dotted line with the current standards and the chance of anything changing is close to zero until we actually have a problem bringing in recruits.

Evolution has nothing to do with it. We are living in a fast food, processed food age. Almost everyday I see people consuming more and more simple carbs and energy drinks to keep themselves going while slacking on PT because of one reason or another. It's all bull****. Throw out your pizza, put down the soda, and go buy some real food. Our military force has gone so far off track of what fitness is, it's mind boggling.

In addition to that, do the APFT standards need to be lowered? Absolutely not. Some APFT events need to be added in order to measure "true" fitness, yes. But we can't lower standards. We're out of shape enough as it is.

Finally, as SPC Jeff Daley, PhD already said, the way in which we measure body fat needs to be changed. Having a lot of muscle mass below the neck and then having a thin neck will always result in an obese number. It's ridiculous. Are these cases the exception? Yes. But we still need to find a better method.

In Marine Corps Boot Camp, some new recruits weigh too much to start training. They go to a special recruit platoon made just for them.

They eat less than most recruits and their exercise is cardio-focused. Remarkably, they all lose weight in this platoon.

Yes!!!! every time I weigh-in I have to starve for a few days and sometimes dehydrate myself. but I run 280-290 PFT's and always get 300 CFT's. the standards the Marine Corps uses haven't changed since 1950 and it is proven we are wider and more muscled than we were back then. I truly say there should be a score cap that if you hit it doesn't matter if you are over (to an extent of course). I have seen marines nearly kill themselves trying to lose the weight to stay out of the Body Weight Composition Program (BCP) my roommate passed out in formation because he was so severely dehydrated to lose the weight, once again a solid performer but his body type did not fit the standards since he was 6 foot had a 36 inch waist and a 14 inch neck he couldn't tape out. He was in the hospital with a I.V. in his arm for a day. this type of thing goes on in every unit every day in the corps and it's hurting marines bodies. and the company commanders who have the power to say "you don't look fat and you have a good PFT score so your not on BCP" don't do it. they just put a good marine on BCP and let his career go up in flames since you cant get promoted while on BCP and it is horrible for PRO/CON's and FitReps. if you go to the gym and lift you will be heavy and big, it is really what a marine should be especially as infantry since if your buddy goes down you need to be able to carry him and his gear. I'll rap up saying that they need to be edited to fit the way a healthy person is now not 50 years ago.

I imagine cyber warriors who only ever sit in an office, so I would say... Should there be standards pft and body fat for different MOS's?