The Impact of Obesity on National and Homeland Security

Abstract

Through a series of policy decisions, innovations, and a growing complex food system, the United States moved from a nation of people considered to be undernourished at one point to a nation with 100 million obese citizens. This radical change in our collective condition took place in less than one generation. This body composition change is impacting military readiness, military recruiting, first-responder readiness, and first-responder recruiting. Further, the impacts of obesity have an annual cost that is estimated to be nearly half a trillion dollars. In our mission to meet both acute and chronic homeland security needs, it is crystal clear that the human and economic burdens of obesity are substantial. Therefore, obesity is a homeland security issue.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2013
Accession Number
ADA589702

Entities

People

  • Daniel W. O'connor

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Body Weight
  • Chemical Synthesis
  • Chemistry
  • Fatty Acids
  • Health Services
  • Meals
  • Medical Personnel
  • Nutritional Sciences
  • Organic Chemistry

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Economics
  • Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
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