WH Senior Policy Adviser Sam Kass Calls Rising Obesity Rate A National Security Threat

White House Chef And Food Policy Adviser Sam Kass Points To National Security Threat As One Reason For Highlighting Childhood Obesity. During a May 7 speech he made at the Weight of the Nation conference, White House assistant chef and senior policy adviser Sam Kass said:

What motivates us is not just the fact that one in three Americans will have diabetes, the impact of obesity on the economy and our healthcare system, or our kids' compromised ability to learn. It's not just the fact that obesity may be our Nation's greatest national security threat. All of those reasons are of vital importance, but we have also internalized what these problems really mean in the lives of children. The First Lady always reminds us that this is about how our kids feel and about how they feel about themselves. It's about the toll that being overweight takes on their self-esteem and their ability to perform. [Let's Move, 5/7/12]

Military Experts Agree That Obesity Is A National Security Risk Because It Limits Military Enrollment And Readiness

Military Officials: In 2005, 27 Percent Of Young Adults Were Too Overweight To Serve In The Military. In an April 30, 2010, Washington Post op-ed, retired U.S. Army Generals and former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John M. Shalikashvili and Hugh Shelton noted that “27 percent of all Americans” were “too overweight to serve in the military.” From the Washington Post:

Are we becoming a nation too fat to defend ourselves?

It seems incredible, but these are the facts: As of 2005, at least 9 million young adults -- 27 percent of all Americans ages 17 to 24 -- were too overweight to serve in the military, according to the Army's analysis of national data. And since then, these high numbers have remained largely unchanged.

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While other significant factors can keep our youth from joining the military -- such as lacking a high school diploma or having a serious criminal record -- being overweight or obese has become the leading medical reason recruits are rejected for military service. Since 1995, the proportion of potential recruits who failed their physical exams because of weight issues has increased nearly 70 percent, according to data reported by the Division of Preventive Medicine at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.

We consider this problem so serious from a national security perspective that we have joined more than 130 other retired generals, admirals and senior military leaders in calling on Congress to pass new child nutrition legislation. [The Washington Post, 4/30/10]

Gen. Shalikashvili: “Since 1995, The Proportion Of Recruits” Who Failed Physicals Due To Obesity Is Up “By Nearly 70 Percent.” An April 25 ABCNews.com article quoted Shalikashvili pointing out that the number of recruits who have “failed their physical exam” due to weight problems “has risen by nearly 70 percent.” From ABCNews.com:

While putting cafeteria fare on the level of a national security threat may be “dramatic,” “it's not entirely unjustified” considering how much students eat during the school day, said Karen Glanz, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Schools of Medicine and Nursing.

In the report, the retirees called for less junk food in schools, better nutrition programs for kids and overall better funding for federally provided school lunches. The group also appeared on Capitol Hill Tuesday with Sen. Richard Lugar and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to show their support for new legislation on the issue pending in congress [sic].

“Since 1995, the proportion of recruits who failed their physical exams because they were overweight has risen by nearly 70 percent,” said Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“We need to reverse this trend, and an excellent place to start is by improving the quality of food served in our schools,” he added. [ABCNews.com, 4/25/10]

Rear Admiral James Barnett: Obesity Is “Not Just A Major Health Issue For Our Nation, It's Also Become A National Security Issue.” On the March 8 edition of CBS' This Morning, Retired Rear Admiral James Barnett pointed out that obesity is “not just a major health issue for our nation, it's also become a national security issue.” Barnett further noted that “When we talk about nutrition, we talk about healthy bodies, but we`re also talking about healthy minds. Nutrition affects strong bodies, strong minds. We need both.” [CBS, This Morning, 3/8/12]

Former Senate Majority Leader Frist: Childhood Obesity “Threatens Our Security, Our National Security.” A November 29, 2011, CNSNews article quoted former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) noting that childhood obesity “threatens our security, our national security as a nation.” From CNSNews:

“Childhood obesity is something much larger than something that just hurts and pulls back and restrains our economic strength. It threatens our security, our national security as a nation,” Frist said on Tuesday at the “Building for a Healthier Future” summit held in Washington, D.C.

“Between 1995 and 2008, over 140,000 potential military recruits failed their entrance physicals, failed them because they were too heavy,” said Frist. “That's 140,000 young men and women who were motivated enough to enlist but, because of being overweight, could not. They were the ones who wanted to serve their country, who were willing to put themselves in harm's way, and they were told, 'No, you're too heavy to safely be trained.'” [CNSNews, 11/29/11]

Study: Every Year, The Military Discharges Over 1,200 Enlistees “Because Of Weight Problems.” From an April 8, 2010 report by the national security nonprofit Mission: Readiness:

Unfortunately, the impact of weight problems on the military does not stop with those turned away. Every year, the military discharges over 1,200 first-term enlistees before their contracts are up because of weight problems; the military must then recruit and train their replacements at a cost of $50,000 for each man or woman, thus spending more than $60 million a year. [Mission: Readiness, “Too Fat to Fight,” 4/8/10]

Despite Expert Analysis, Right-Wing Media Mock Kass For Calling Obesity A National Security Threat

Fox Nation: “Obama's Food Czar Says Obesity Bigger Threat Than Al Qaeda.” From a May 9 Fox Nation post:

[Fox Nation, 5/9/12]

Hoft: “Obama Food Czar Now Making National Security Speeches.” In a May 9 Gateway Pundit post titled “Good Grief! Obama Food Czar Now Making National Security Speeches,” Jim Hoft wrote:

It's an Obama world.

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Now National Food Czar Sam Kass is giving lectures on the obesity threat on national security.

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Earlier this week Leon Panetta told us global warming was a national security threat. Last June they told us Al-Qaeda was no longer a threat.

This is so confusing. [Gateway Pundit, 5/9/12, emphasis original]

Big Government's Bigelow Mocks Kass For Calling Obesity A National Security Threat. In a May 9 Big Government post, William Bigelow wrote:

Here's your multiple choice question of the day: According to Sam Kass, who was the personal chef for the Obama family before they moved into the White House and is now an assistant chef and food initiative coordinator there, what may be the nation's greatest security threat?

1. Islamic terrorists

2. Nuclear weapons in Iran and North Korea

3. China's stranglehold on our national debt

4. Fat

This shouldn't be too hard. This is the Obama White House we're talking about.

You guessed it. The answer is the extra poundage Americans carry.

[...]

It's good to know that even if Islamic terrorists slaughter us, repellent regimes bomb us, or China finally collects its chips and we suffer an unheard of depression, the Obamas care that we look good in our clothes.

What the heck, if we're going to be buried, we might as well look our best. [Big Government, 5/9/12, emphasis original]