title: Association of weight at enlistment with enrollment in the Army Weight Control Program and subsequent attrition in the Assessment of Recruit Motivation and Strength Study.
abstract: The ongoing obesity epidemic has made recruiting qualified Army applicants increasingly difficult. A cohort of 10,213 Army enlisted subjects was enrolled in the Assessment of Recruit Motivation and Strength (ARMS) study from February 2005 through September 2006. Overweight recruits obtained a waiver for enlistment (n = 990) if they passed a screening physical fitness test. Recruits were evaluated for enrollment into the Army Weight Control Program (AWCP) and discharged during the 15 months following enlistment. Enrollment was higher among overweight recruits than recruits who met entrance standards (men: adjusted OR = 13.3 [95% CI: 10.3, 17.2]; women: adjusted OR = 3.6 [3.3, 3.9]). Although the discharge frequency was higher in the waiver group than in those who met standards (25.4% versus 19.9%, p < 0.001), there were only 10 (0.5% of total) discharges directly attributed to weight. Granting overweight waivers through the ARMS program increases enrollment to the AWCP but has little effect on weight-related attrition.
authors.affiliation: Division of Preventive Medicine, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA.
authors.forename: Sheryl A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Bedno
authors.forename: Christine E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.forename: William E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Daniell
authors.forename: Andrew R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Wiesen
authors.forename: Bennett
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Datu
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Niebuhr
mesh_terms: D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007318:Inservice Training / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008887:Military Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D008889:Military Personnel; D053580:Muscle Strength; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D010560:Personnel Selection / Q000379:methods*; D010807:Physical Endurance / Q000502:physiology; D010809:Physical Fitness; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D015431:Weight Loss / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult