The U.S. Military's New Mission: Slimmer Kids

The No. 1 reason people can’t join the military is that they’re overweight or obese, says a group of retired military leaders who are fighting for improved childhood nutrition. Under the name Mission: Readiness, they estimate that more than one in five young Americans is too heavy to enlist in the armed services.

On Thursday, Mission: Readiness representatives and Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack discussed how efforts to excuse schools from meeting USDA school food nutrition standards by special interest groups and some members of Congress affect the military. The group has been advocating the removal of junk foods from schools and the imposition of better nutritional standards in school lunches. The epidemic, they say, is affecting service members as well.