Army’s GI Janes close fitness gap on slow-Joes

has nearly doubled in three years, and there are concerns that soldiers are losing focus because they are not being sent to war.

However, while the men may have lost their edge, female troops are narrowing the gap after years of bringing up the rear in the fitness stakes. Figures obtained by

reveal that between January and mid-September this year, 11,300 troops out of a possible 63,910 – around 17.7 per cent – failed one or more personal fitness assessments.

That compared with only 7,120 out of 74,010 personnel – or 9.6 per cent – in 2013.

Last night, senior Army sources said the failure rate may have increased due to fewer deployments on operations.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said basic fitness tests had not changed in the past three years. All Army personnel must take a fitness assessment, including sit-ups, press-ups and a 1.5-mile run, twice a year. According to the MoD figures, three years ago just over 12 per cent of women recruits failed their fitness assessment at least once, as did 9.4 per cent of men. But this year, although the proportion of women failing an assessment had risen, that of men had gone up more – 18.8 per cent of women and 17.6 per cent of men flunked one or more assessments.

It comes as women prepare to take up front-line roles, after David Cameron, while he was prime minster, announced the end of the ban on women in combat roles. It prompted a debate over whether such roles are suitable and even led to claims that women on the front line could place their male comrades at risk.

The new figures also show that at least 31,900 personnel were overweight or obese in the past three years.

One recently retired officer suggested soldiers found it harder to focus on keeping fit because they knew they were not going on operations. He said: “Operations sharpen the mind and focus your efforts – the prospect of going to Afghanistan was certainly an incentive to get fit.

“After all, you don’t want to let your mates down by being unfit and not prepared. Being shot at is hard enough when you’re fit, let alone when you’re out of shape.”

The Army said that in recent years there had been a greater focus on fitness testing and the results could reflect the weaknesses of troops who had not been checked for some time.

It is understood that personnel who fail tests are put on fitness programmes. An MoD spokesman said: “Over 90 per cent of our personnel are fit to be deployed on operations around the world at any time.

“All our forces are educated in nutrition, diet and exercise in order to maintain a healthy weight.”