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48 U. Tol. L. Rev. 21 (2016-2017)
Size Really Does Matter: How Obesity Is Undermining America's National Security

handle is hein.journals/utol48 and id is 27 raw text is: SIZE REALLY DOES MATTER: HOW OBESITY IS UNDERMINING AMERICA'S NATIONAL SECURITY Ryan T. Williams* Obesity is the single greatest non-criminal hindrance for our young people seeking to enlist in the armed forces.1 I. INTRODUCTION S INCE 1980, adult obesity rates in America have doubled from fifteen to thirty percent, and childhood obesity rates have almost tripled in the same time period.2 Since 1960, the incidence of extreme or 'morbid' obesity (BMI above 40) has risen six-fold.'3 In total, an estimated 160 million Americans are either obese or overweight.4 Nearly 75% of American men and more than 60% of women are obese or overweight.5 With these increased rates of obesity are significant increases in a plethora of illnesses, including type-2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, cancer, arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and infant mortality.6 Because obesity affects self-esteem, which in turn affects academic performance, rising youth obesity rates may negatively impact American students' academic achievement and competitiveness in a global economy.'7 In sum, excessive weight gain and obesity are growing, unchecked problems in the United States. According to Dr. Ali Mokdad, Professor of Global Health at the Institute for Health Metrics and * Professor of Law, Western State College of Law. My sincerest thanks to the many who gratuitously helped with research, time, energy, and revisions, including Professsor Jennifer Koh, Janely Mendoza and Ashlee Edwards. 1. Jessica Rinaldi, Only One-in-Four Americans Fit to Serve in the Military, REUTERS (May 17, 2013, 8:22 PM), https://www.rt.com/usa/military-service-fit-american-449/ (quoting Senator Lisa Murkowski about the Fit to Serve Act). 2. Paul A. Diller, Combating Obesity with A Right to Nutrition, 101 GEO. L.J. 969, 98t (2013) (citing F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America, TRUST FOR AM. HEALTH 5 (Aug. 2008), http://healthyamericans.org/reports/obesity2008/Obesity2008Report.pdf). 3. Sharon Begley, As America's Waistline Expands, Costs Soar, REUTERS (Apr. 30, 2012), http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/30/us-obesity-idUSBRE83TOC820120430. 4. Christopher J.L. Murray et al., The Vast Majority of American Adults Are Overweight or Obese, and Weight is a Growing Problem Among US Children, INST. FOR HEALTH METRICS AND EVALUATION, http://www.healthdata.org/news-release/vast-majority-american-adults-are-over weight-or-obese-and-weight-growing-problem-among (last visited Nov. 3, 2016). 5. Id. 6. Diller, supra note 2, at 981 (citing F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America). 7. Id. at 982.

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