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Study: Career officers in bad shape
Comprehensive survey among tens of thousands of soldiers shows almost all of them overeat, don't exercise enough
Sarit Rosenblum
Career officers getting fatter: A new survey undertaken by the IDF among tens of thousands of career officers shows almost 90 percent of them face a high risk of heart and blood disease, Israel's leading newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported Monday.
The reasons for the alarming figure: Overweight, lack of physical activity, and malnutrition. Overall, 26,477 men and women aged 25-44 took part in the study.
Analysis of the results showed men performed worse than women in almost all parameters. They were more overweight, had higher blood sugar levels, and higher cholesterol levels. Women, on the other hand, were less active than men.
Overall, only 49.6 percent of those tested weighed within proper limits, while 18 percent were obese. More men than women were characterized as obese, the study showed. In total, 81 percent of men and 70 percent of women said they were not watching their weight at the time of the study.
Dr. Rafi Haruti, one of the researchers, responded to the results: "The study results are worrisome, but they are not unique to the IDF and reflect the state of health in the Western world, which is an ill world."
"The IDF has made a point of identifying its soldiers' problems at a young age, while they're still healthy, and starting treatment that would prevent them from becoming sick and suffering needlessly later on."
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