Forget BDUs Generation Y Wants KFC, McDs and MTV

An article in the Seattle Times Monday by Pauline Jelinek “Uncle Sam wants you, Generation Y, but not all of you” detailed the growing number of overweight teenagers ineligible and not up-to-par with military standards. They stated currently there are 32 million Americans in the 17-24 age group, but factoring in the obesity rate of U.S. adults of 30% and that 1/3 of teenagers are ‘incapable of passing a treadmill test’ leaves only a small majority left in shape to fight combat. The article also detailed findings from the Census Bureau that the eligibility pool of 18-24 year olds shrunk by 1 million in 2004 from 2000.