Trends in overweight and obesity in soldiers entering the USArmy, 1989-2012

Objective The US Army recruits new soldiers from an increasingly obese civilian population. The change in weight status at entry into the Army between 1989 and 2012 and the demographic characteristics associated with overweight/obesity at entry were examined. Methods 1,741,070 unique individuals with complete sex, age, and anthropometric information contributed data to linear and logistic regressions examining time trends and associations between demographic characteristics and overweight/obesity. Results The prevalence of overweight (body mass index 25