Should army find a new way to fat test soldiers???
Discrimination
As many have commented, the real issue here is the way the military measures body fat (with the tape test) and how the military bases who is "fat" or "overweight" based on the tape test. There is NO science to the tape test, studies have shown that it can be off by up to 15%. We can do better.
The argument against hydrostatic body fat measurements is usually that they are too hard to do or that the equipment costs too much. Some knowledge is required to use these systems, and they do cost a bit more than the tape used for a tape test. But they aren't that difficult to operate and they aren't that expensive, really. Remember, this is the DoD, which has a multi-billion dollar annual budget. I just did a google search; the first hydrostatic setup I found (http://www.vacumed.com/zcom/product/Product.do?compid=27&prodid=296) costs about $25,000. If DoD bought 2,000 of these, that would cost $50 million. Add in a couple million for annual maintenance, upgrade, repair, etc, and we could probably have a DoD-wide set of these for about $100 million. Chump change in the DoD budget.
The other argument against using technology to measure body fat is that the tape test can be used in austere environments, such as deployments. I've deployed a few times, and each time, not only were APFT requirements waived during the deployment, but so were height and weight requirements. So, I don't buy this argument, either.
VacuMed | Metabolic Testing equiptment, Cardiopulmonary Testing systems
Hydrostatic measurements are based on the assumption that density and specific gravity of lean tissue is greater than that of fat tissue. Therefore, lean tissue will sink in water and fat tissue will float. By comparing a test subject's weight measured out of the water and submerged underwater, body composition can be calculated.
Here is an example of a flaw with the current system. One time I saw a 5'4" guy, 200+ pounds, with a 40+" waist pass because he had a 21" neck. He actually came in with a lower BF% than me.....
Seriously though, the tape method is not completely accurate but is more practical than other more accurate methods such as the displacement test.
I am not sure of a better method because I am not to educated on this I just wanted to come here to post this quote: "You can't out work bad nutrition". As many have said eating right is more important than PT. I have never been taped because I obsess over health. You have one body, take care of it.
Also, I am not talking about people with legit disabilities. I know it can be a struggle for soldier with combat injuries / injuries in general.
Personally why test? if testing is all that is going to be done, then what is the purpose behind, I would say. What the army needs to do is find out what causes weight gain and how to lose it. But then we all know the answer for that, so why test.
First what do you gain for being over weight?
one can gain many harmful physical conditions that may be too late to recover from, making it harder for the SM whom has a weight problem lose the weight he needs to lose to meet standards. I'm not a Doctor or Physician to make statements but I know many people I know that are over weight do have the hardest time losing that weight.
I personally can make recommendations, but when they are not taken, I gather that they seem to enjoy being over weight and not taking the matter serious until a heart condition or diabetes kicks in and its too late.
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