'Too Fat to Fight': Report Says School Lunches a Threat to National Security

HEALTH -- April 21, 2010 at 5:08 PM EDT

'Too Fat to Fight': Report Says School Lunches a Threat to National Security

A new report says that 27 percent of all Americans ages 17 to 24 are too overweight to join the military. Now, the group of retired military officers that prepared the report is asking Congress to pass a nutrition bill that would make school lunches healthier.

The officers believe that young Americans' weight problems pose a threat to national security by making it more difficult for the military to fill its ranks.

The group, called "Mission: Readiness," spoke on Capitol Hill Tuesday.

"We need to compete for the best and the brightest," says Retired Navy Rear Admiral James Barnett, Jr. "We can't have them fouling out because of obesity."

Barnett stopped by the Rundown Tuesday to discuss the issue. Listen to the full conversation below:

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