Pool of potential enlistees is shrinking - due to obesity - any suggestions?

We don't need to do anything. Those that want to serve won't let that stand in their way, they will lose the weight. That is the kind of person we want in the Military anyways.

How about returning PE to schools.
"But even as virtually every state has undertaken significant school reforms, many American students are being granted little or no time in the gym."
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/11/education/even-as-schools-battle-obesity-physical-education-is-sidelined.html?_r=0

I agree with SSgt (Join to see) , for recruits we do not need to do anything. For our current military members there are a lot of changes that can be made in the DFACs and during PT that can help keep us a healthy and fit military force.

LTC Jason Strickland The problem is greater than the Army's needs. It's a reflection on the health and physical activity level of the nation. Fast food, processed food, the growth toward the singular family instead of community have all contributed to this, combined with areas of "Food Deserts" where there are five fast food resteraunts for one grocery store, combine this with playing video games, iPhone surfing, and computers being regarded as activities and what we have is an out of shape and overweight population. As a nation, as parents and as individuals we should do what we can to change this. Some ideas might be do food prep on the weekend and set aside individual prepared meals to grab and go during the week, change the kind of snacks we have available to healthy ones like apples, oranges, bananas (teens eat what is available), have healthy go to options for when you're in a hurry that are portable. don't buy coke by the case but do buy water by the case.
Support desires to participate in club sports as well as school sports, encourage healthy group activities bike riding, hiking. Introduce them to new types of activities boxing, rowing, rock climbing...
Start programs to encourage, give ideas, and teach healthy habits in your community. Start with your own family, spread it to your neighbors... It doesn't have to start big.

It's all about starting healthy habits early, not giving in to what is easy, saying no.

For those in the Army we need to enforce Army standards. There is already a program in place that offers weight counseling, medical intervention (identify if the person is unable to lose weight for a medial reason), meal planning through a dietitian... If someone wants to stay in, stay healthy,.... they'll put forth the effort to do so.

Double the number of Army JROTC programs in the USA... I'll PT them enough for them to all meet the entrance standards.

I think the physical fitness standards in all need to be higher we are a force that needs to be ready. Bad guys ain't going to wait for you to get in shape.

No suggestions. It just takes heart to meet the demands of the military. When you look at the enlistee, you can tell a lot by how they look. Unfortunately in the private sector they look at that as well. First impression last a lifetime.

Lets don't just blame lack of PE at schools. My kids have always joined sports motivated by me and the wife. Gymnastics, cross country, track, anything to get your body busy. If you want to serve then you will pay the price to get in shape. So many young people join out of shape expecting boot camp (especially Marines and Army0 to be a summer camp. Then they complain that they fail because the military was against them. Suck it up!!! Semper Fi!

The fix would be involved public education. Increase national awareness and promote better living through vast media tools available today. Technology is one of the major inhibitors of physical activity kets use it toward the fix. The young spend an enormous amount of time in front of computers, game consoles, and phones. Parents need to be the enforcers by limiting this time.
We as a military can continue to demand high physical standards. Annalysis as shown that SMs who were obese prior to entry tend to fall off the wagon and eventually are discharged for overweight. Not all, but more than those who enter service with good habits already in place. With the drawdown in military numbers we can continue for some time without major impact to recruitment.

Increased National health campaigning is a good start. Target the adults who have the greatest impact on our nations youth. Embedded healthy habit messaging into the the lives of our youths. Marketing folks use this technique for sales, lets make it work for our nations future.

The real problem is "Habit". Human beings are creatures of Habit. Physical training is the only thing that is instilled in us by force instead by habit. We dress ourselves, we get our ASUs ready by ourselves. We salute and say "sir or ma'am" out of habit. But often PT in the morning is something that doesn't follow those guidelines. The best way to instill this Habit is to have soldiers do PT on their own (which every way you think is best). The 2nd thing I would do, is get rid of some of these vending machines. Seriously do we need a candy machine in the damn GYM. The 3rd thing is get rid of the FAST FOOD in the food court. Subway is fine but seriously "Popeyes". You have any idea how much weight soldiers gain because of that. Healthier alternatives at the Shoppette would help as well.