PHOTO: With the growing waistlines of America’s youth, hundreds of veterans across the nation are pushing for policies and investments to get young people active and healthy, saying it’s imperative for national defense. Photo credit: Joe Goldberg/Flickr
A group of retired military leaders says it is a matter of national security to improve the health and education of children, the country’s future soldiers. Mission: Readiness is a group of some 400 retired generals, admirals and senior military leaders, including retired Brig. Gen. Denny Shulstad. “What we are trying to do is encourage young people to, number one, get a good education,” Shulstad says. “Also, stay out of trouble with the law and stay in some reasonable physical shape so that you are eligible to join the military.” Shulstad says the growing number of young people who are overweight or obese is of great concern to the military, because many potential recruits are not healthy enough to enlist. One way to reverse the trend and help get kids moving toward a healthier lifestyle is to promote and support programs that help provide children with safe routes to school, he adds. “Today only 13 percent of young people either ride their bike or walk to school. We would like very much to see that number increase, because that is a very easy way to encourage kids to get outside, to walk, to run, to ride their bicycles,” he explains. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over the past 30 years obesity among adolescents has quadrupled. More information is available at www.missionreadiness.org. Childhood obesity statistics are available at www.1.usa.gov
