Fat or Fit: Is There a Correlation?

Army Regulation AR 600-9, The Army Weight Control Program, has undergone two major changes since all the military services were directed by Department of Defense DOD to design a weight control program. The current AR 600-9 requires the use of circumferential measurements to assess body fat percentages and states that the assurance of physical fitness and a trim military appearance are the primary objectives of this program. The hypothesis of this paper is that body fat percentage standards, as defined in AR 600-9, cannot accurately measure physical fitness. Keywords Body fat, Physical fitness, Overweight, Weight control system, Fat or fit, Combat readiness, Army, AWCP.