The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) wants its 20,000 regular servicemen to be fighting fit and warns that those who are obese and are doing nothing about their shape will get booted out.
Regulars with a body mass index (BMI) exceeding 29 – for instance, someone who is 1.8m tall and weighs 94kg – should pay closer attention to their weight and fitness levels.
According to The Straits Times, since early this year, overweight soldiers, sailors or airmen have received warning letters and are given a year to lose at least ten per cent of their weight.
Those who fail to drop the kilos will be given a second warning and have up to another three years to shape up – or risk being shipped out.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed the new BMI guidelines but did not say when the stricter measures kicked in. The BMI – which is calculated by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by the square of his or her height in metres – provides an estimate of a person’s body fat.
SAF regulars claim they were aware of the measures only at the start of this year. A circular obtained dated April this year informed them that those who do not shape up after three years would be subjected to “admin action as this is considered a BMI failure”. It is unclear how many are classified as “BMI failures” even as all 20,000 regulars in the SAF undergo compulsory BMI screening.
Defence Ministry spokesman Desmond Tan revealed that regulars with a BMI of 30 and above will be referred for “weight management by medical specialists at a hospital-based weight management clinic”.
Those with a slightly lower BMI of 27 to below 30 will be enrolled in a different weight management programme that “comprises health screening, dietary counselling and an exercise regime”. The ministry first introduced this weight management programme in 2002.
The BMI is used as a health indicator “to reduce weight-related health risks among regular servicemen”, Colonel Tan said.
He added that the SAF also takes into account other factors like the measurement of percentage body fat and the Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) as health and fitness indicators for SAF regulars.
“The SAF is committed to helping its uniformed regulars maintain a healthy lifestyle to ensure that they are able to perform their required tasks and contribute effectively to the SAF,” Colonel Tan said.
According to the Health Promotion Board (HPB), Asians with BMI scores above 27.5 are at a “high risk” of developing cardiovascular diseases like hearth attacks, hypertension and diabetes. A BMI score between 18.5 and 23 is considered healthy.
Although other military units, like those in the United States and Britain also watch their troops’ waistlines and gauge combat performance, studies have shown that BMI does not accurately reflect whether a person is unfit or carrying excess fat.
Ms Kalpana Bhaskaran, a nutritionist and spokesman for the Singapore Nutrition and Diabetics Association, said that although the BMI is a convenient tool, “it does not take into account different body types or gender differences and also the amount of body fat, and lean body mass”.
She explains, “Because muscle weighs more than fat, it’s possible for a muscular person to have a high BMI, but that doesn’t mean he or she is overweight. Likewise, it’s possible for someone to have a low or ideal BMI but still have too much body fat.”
Chris Chew, a fitness instructor, thinks the BMI benchmark of 30 and above is quite lax.
“To have a BMI of over 30, you are either a really serious bodybuilder or just obese… Anyway, you need fit and healthy people to have a strong military,” he said.
A serviceman who tips the scales at 89kg and is 1.72cm tall revealed he has been told by his superiors to lose weight to avoid being served a warning letter. The technician, who declined to be named, told the paper that he has been doing more workouts and cutting down on fatty foods and carbohydrates in hope of shedding a few kilos within the next six months.
“If my weight is going to affect my career progression and may even make me lose my job, then it’s worth the effort and the pain,” he added.
Latest figures from HPB show that in 2004, 6.9 per cent of adults aged between 18 and 69 were obese, an increase of 0.9 percentage point over the figure in 1998 and up from 5.1 per cent in 1992.
does it affect all personnel in all vocation?
nsf will be sacked from army if they are too fat also?
teenagers will are too fat will not be enlisted for national service
anyway, chinese kungfu master sammo hung is quite fat but he is still fit to fight ip man
.......they are gettin rid of people.
i might have known that was their move...its predictable.
move one new policy only to have something else pay back for new policy.
not really
if the intention is to reduce their personnels they can target other criterias such as ippt or other trainings
don't need to target fat people
fat ppl easy target
they did target ippt in the past by increasing standards.....with disastrous results.colonels run until died.....warrant officers died on a leisure jog etc.
so now they try a more subtle method by lookin at body first.later on if theres not much results and not many people being shipped out they would resort to other methods.
steamboat with sea cucumber n chicken chilli sauce smells nice
mr president,i suggest we raise alert def con 3
and mobilse all units with immediate effect.
It's a good thing since many regulars are getting fat.
BMI no accurate. they should just go and focus on fitness
they need to get rid of excess baggage.,,,fat short botak people who dun look good in a uniform....tall commandos with tummy.....old aircraft technicians with fat ass......basically people who dun look good in a magnificent military uniform.
dun matter about work scope,,,,can hand over without much difficulty if fat short and botak people gets shipped out..only tall,skinny one will stay.....first to go off would be short plump botak people....toommuch heavy muscles on head and too much tummy muscles and ass muscles...everywhere fats n heavy meat...like a meatball.these are ones who look damn bad ina uniform.
seriously speaking, diet is very difficult to control on the regulars.
Terminator Hitman!how old are you?
I didn't even know there were 20,000 regulars..!
Good luck to all the fat RSMs hahaha.
About time! i feel that as regulars, you are a professional soldier. How can a professional soldier be fat and obese? pay you so much $$ and u just get fat?!?
I feel that all regulars should get at least silver for IPPT, If not no contract! Haha!!
Even BMI of 27 is already quite high. They are actually pretty lenient.
In fact anyone with BMI above 25 should be placed on that weight management program.
Maybe added incentive for people with healthy BMI should be given as well.
gd!it's about time those fat,unfit regulars especially the staff,master sgts,warrants learn that there's a real world out there not their make believe world of waiting for a war!!I still remember my time when these unfit ppl sit inside the Specs Mess drinking beer in the evening,telling me and my frens y cannot pass our IPPT!With their drinking and stomach paunches,they can get Silver in IPPT?hardly see them running except to the Mess..lol
Correct me if I am wrong.
Usually those regular ns men are those on top, they have belly...wonder whether they will get boot out or not.
Or jut below rank?
not got belly sure get the boot.....but lot of the old WOs...sure will keng all the way
Originally posted by tarutaru:not got belly sure get the boot.....but lot of the old WOs...sure will keng all the way
Those are keng king and sadists king, all must boot out.