Body positivity blamed for soft Army recruits
Young soldiers need to stop pretending that it is acceptable to be obese, says military fitness instructor
‘Nowadays everyone seems to be too worried to actually say what is right in terms of health’
A BRITISH Army fitness instructor believes the body positivity movement promotes obesity and will create a generation unable to cope with life in the Armed Forces.
Lance Sergeant Farren Morgan, a Coldstream Guard, said younger soldiers were increasingly “shocked” by the reality of joining the Army and warned that having a force made up of overweight troops could have serious implications for “operational effectiveness”.
The body positivity movement promotes the acceptance of all body shapes, regardless of size, shape, skin tone, gender, and physical abilities. The rise of Instagram has helped it gain widespread attention.
L/sgt Morgan, 36, said many new recruits joined up thinking that “being happy is all that matters”.
He claimed young men and women were bombarded with adverts on television and online urging them to “embrace their bodies” despite the possible health implications of being obese.
He said: “My job is to help people get into the Army and into the military.
“Young recruits’ brains are like sponges and I know lots of them watch TV day in and day out. They see these [body positive] images in the media, promoting an unhealthy lifestyle [while] celebrities say ‘it’s OK to eat what you want, as long as you’re happy.’
“That’s wrong. Being overweight puts more stress on the NHS and if this trend becomes a widespread way of thinking amongst younger recruits you will knock off a lot of the operational effectiveness of the Army.”
L/sgt Morgan, who works as a physical training instructor for the Coldstream Guards in Westminster, London, said that young people in general needed to “man up” and stop pretending it’s “OK” to be fat.
He added: “I see so many of these body positivity adverts on TV and they have a negative impact on recruits’ mental health and their well-being.
“People join up and think, ‘hang on, the Army is telling me that I need to be healthy, robust and train five or six times a week.’ But then they see adverts on TV saying that you don’t need to do all that. You just need to be happy in yourself. I think it is confusing and a shock for a lot of them.”
L/sgt Morgan said the culture of instant gratification, with takeaway apps such as Deliveroo and Uber Eats, was also to blame for the growing problem of obesity.
He stressed, however, that while he thought the body positive movement was having a negative impact on new recruits’ mental health, it had not led to an increase in the number of overweight troops.
He said the Army had fitness standards in place that ensured every soldier was capable of performing to the level required.
There are three main tests potential recruits undergo at the Army assessment centre before they can start basic training. Candidates are also usually required to have a BMI of between 17 to 29.9.
L/sgt Morgan said: “I’m not saying that recruits at the moment are fatter but I do believe that
… there’s too much misinformation out there about health. I’ve been training for 18 years.
“I know what health is and how to stay healthy. But nowadays everyone seems to be too worried to actually say what is right in terms of health. “We’re telling these young recruits to stay healthy but the body positivity movement is telling them that all that matters is being happy in your own body.
“I am the total opposite of that. I think you should be happy but you’ve also got to be healthy. I think [as a country] we’re scared to see what’s going on [with obesity] and deal with it,” L/sgt Morgan added.
“Just grow a pair. We’ve been through two world wars, but it seems like we’ll try to find anything to moan about.”