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A study indicating that a large number of Canadian military personnel are overweight is getting attention in the news media, both domestically and from the U.S. (Washington Post).

The U.S. military has been dealing with the issue of overweight soldiers.

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But as the Washington Post noted, according to a recently published survey on health and lifestyle conducted by the Canadian military, 49 percent of all Regular Force personnel were considered overweight and 25 percent were considered obese, based on body mass index.

Of that, 6.1 percent of personnel were considered morbidly obese.

The report is based on survey results from 2013-2014.

How accurate is this survey?

As Canadian military personnel have pointed out….(also noted in the Global TV report on the same survey) being declared overweight based on the body mass index or BMI may not reflect an accurate reading of the situation. BMI means you’re heavier than recommended for your height, but many soldiers may simply be very muscular, Global TV noted. In other words, if you are pretty muscular, then you could be placed in the overweight category.