Fighting Weight: How Military Recruiters Take On Obesity, Case By Case
A decade ago, Army recruiters started coaching individuals to help them lose weight so they could enlist. It's not an official Army program, but has become necessary to recruitment, many say.
by Yuki Noguchi
May 17, 2021
4 minutes
Marcus Robinson wanted to follow the older brother he idolizes into military life. He also needed the Army benefits to help pay for college. "I had to do it because I didn't want my parents to worry about paying for school," the 18-year-old says.
But last year — mid-way through his senior year of high school — Robinson tipped the scales at 240 pounds, making him too heavy to qualify under the U.S. Army's fitness standards.
"I would look at pictures of myself and I would get upset," Robinson says. Repeated attempts to lose weight on his own didn't work. House-bound pandemic life and his summer job at an
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