An organization of retired military leaders has deemed school lunches a threat to military recruitment because of the food’s adverse health affect on students, according to an article published by The Associated Press on Tuesday.

It’s called “Mission: Readiness,” and it hopes a new nutrition bill will be voted on by the Senate. Nine million young adults between 17 and 24 years of age are currently too overweight to join the military, according to a report released by the group Tuesday titled “Too Fat to Fight.”

In the report, “Mission: Readiness” deems childhood obesity one of several aspects holding young adults back from enlisting. Others include criminal records, mental and physical disabilities, and not graduating from high school or college.

The group met with Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and Tom Vilsack, the U.S. secretary of agriculture, on Tuesday to discuss the proposed bill, according to the article. Over a 10-year span, the government will spend $4.5 billion for nutrition programs in schools, according to the article.

The national school lunch program was originally developed in 1946 for those in the military who were being thrown out of service for having less-than-satisfactory diets. The original bill stated the program was set up “as a measure of national security.”

The nutrition bill follows several new initiatives to decrease childhood obesity in schools. First Lady Michelle Obama’s campaign, “Let’s Move,” promotes healthier food and activity choices for children. New York Gov. David Paterson announced Dec. 14 an “obesity tax” part of New York state’s budget. The tax would add an 18 percent charge to soft drinks and fruit juices that contain less than 70 percent fruit juice, according to an article in The New York Times published Dec. 16.

The Daily Orange asks the experts: Have school lunches become a national security threat?

Meet the expert: Lt. Col. Susan Hardwick, military science professor

“As a person wants to enlist and ROTC, there’s different weight requirements. If they don’t pass the screen weight, they can be recalled. We can determine their body-fat percent. If their body fat is below the standard, then they’re fine. (School lunches) may be part of the problem, but it may be our society in general. When I was growing up, people were much more active in their lives. My mother actually worked in a cafeteria, and she would tell me all the nutrition guidelines. I think school lunches have come a long way.”

Meet the expert: Catherine Bertini, public administration professor

“First of all, it’s interesting to note that the school lunch program was created from the military in 1946. So many young men who were drafted could not pass the physical because they were undernourished. It’s almost come full circle now that some people are saying that it’s a potential problem again because people are still malnourished. On top of that, schools don’t have a physical education program that they had. There are a lot of high-salt, high-fat foods that we eat, especially pre-prepared foods. All of those things contribute to childhood obesity. As far as the school lunches, there’s been a movement to make school lunches lean and mean. It’s hard to say that school lunch programs are the problem. But we need to look at a combination to ensure that they have all the right proteins.”

Meet the expert: Thomas Dennison, public administration professor

“It is a national security threat. It is a national economic threat because of increased health care spending associated with obesity, and it is a threat to our overall economy if young adults are not physically fit and able to participate fully in the work force. This is a threat from any number of perspectives.”

Published on April 21, 2010 at 12:00 pm