Australian Military Three Times As Obese As US Military

It looks like the claim that Australia is the world’s fattest nation is now beginning to carry over to the Australian Defence Force:

THE Australian military has revealed 7500 of its 53,000 troops are now classified as obese.

Official figures show one in seven members of the defence force is overweight – more than three times the ratio recorded last month by the US military.

The ADF has admitted obesity has become “an issue” for personnel and has commissioned its specialist research centre, based at the University of Queensland, to investigate possible causes.

The study will look at the impact of changes to recruiting standards in 2006, when fatter recruits were admitted to “broaden the selection pool”.  [The Sunday Telegraph]