Army recruits from southern states are more likely to be poor physical condition

A study published in the Journal of Public of Public Health Management and Practice has found that the Army is having trouble finding recruits, from southern states, that are in good physical condition -where the Army has been known to find a large percentage of soldiers.

The study was intended to correlate Army recruits’ cardiorespiratory fitness, body mass index (BMI), and injuries with the states in which they were recruited in. The data could then be used to determine whether or not certain states may “pose disproportionate threats to military readiness and national security.”

After examining over 165,000 Army recruits, the study found a cluster of 10 states from the south and southeastern regions (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas) which produced male or female recruits who were significantly less fit and/or more likely to become injured than recruits from other US states.

The team of doctors who led the study claim that efforts to efforts to advocate more active lifestyles in these regions often fail at improving the population’s health, but if the goal is to improve national security they believe it will have a  higher chance of being successful.

Legislators may be more inclined to approve advocacy efforts in states that are proven to be disproportionately burdensome for military readiness and national security.