Nutrition: The national security threat no one is talking about

One of the largest challenges the U.S. military faces is an internal threat to recruitment and readiness due to excess body weight. Seventy-seven percent of Americans between the ages of 17 and 24 cannot qualify for military service, and that number continues to rise.

For three out of four young people, this is due to obesity and failure to meet fitness standards. Once they are in the military, their health status often worsens and becomes particularly problematic when they retire. For example, an estimated two-thirds of our active-duty military personnel are overweight or obese, and obesity, prediabetes and type-2 diabetes in U.S. veterans exceed the already elevated numbers in the general population. These health trends are deeply concerning and mirror the obesity epidemic in the general population.

The U.S. military follows the Dietary Guidelines for Americans that continue to recommend low-fat, high-carbohydrate foods. The guidelines impact everything from school lunches to military rations. Americans have been encouraged to follow these guidelines for decades yet struggle to stay healthy. If the Dietary Guidelines considered individuals with diet-related disorders or diseases, they would have to explore additional dietary patterns and expand their review to include the latest science. We could finally begin to move the needle.

A well-constructed lower-carbohydrate diet, defined as no more than 130 grams of carbohydrates daily, can help people lose weight and prevent and reverse certain chronic diseases such as metabolic syndrome or type 2 diabetes. Yet there is no option for a low-carbohydrate eating pattern in the Dietary Guidelines despite many peer-reviewed scientific publications supporting its effectiveness.

According to a 2018 study published in Diabetes Therapy, 94 percent of subjects with type 2 diabetes were able to reduce or eliminate their use of insulin after limiting their carbohydrate intake. Over half of active-duty military personnel report regularly consuming sugar and caffeine-containing energy drinks.

For many, excessively refined carbohydrates, especially added sugar in energy drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages, can contribute to weight gain, obesity and other health problems. Yet, the federal government continues to support recommendations that include a level of carbohydrate consumption that is not healthy for most of the population, especially those who are already overweight.

Currently, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are being written for a small portion of the population, even though the law that established the Dietary Guidelines requires that they be for the “general population.” The government first issued the dietary guidelines in 1980 and has always focused on an eating pattern that is relatively low in fat and high in carbohydrates.

Since that time, childhood obesity and diabetes rates have tripled. Adult obesity rates have doubled. It’s hard not to connect the dots, especially considering the well-established effects of excessive carbohydrate intake to promote fat storage and exacerbate insulin resistance.

Our nation is facing an impending crisis and the federal government has the power to change this trajectory. Given the rising rates of obesity in society and the military, there is an urgent need to explore alternative scientifically credible nutrition approaches. It is time for the federal government to acknowledge that most Americans are not healthy and update the Dietary Guidelines for Americans to reflect the current scientific literature that points to lower carbohydrates as an effective option for individuals with diet-related diseases, including obesity.

The federal government has a responsibility to provide nutritional recommendations for all Americans. And because the Dietary Guidelines for Americans serve as the pillar of federal nutrition policy, they influence the diets of millions of Americans. As we continue to watch the number of Americans with diet-related diseases rise, maintaining the status quo is no longer an option. Increased rates of diabetes, heart disease and obesity are adding billions of dollars to our nation’s health care costs and dramatically impacting the health and readiness of our nation’s military.

Now is the time for Congress to pass legislation that would expand the Dietary Guidelines for Americans to include recommendations for people with diet-related diseases.

Dr. Mark Cucuzzella is an Air Force Reserve lieutenant colonel (ret.) and professor at West Virginia University School of Medicine. He is a practicing physician at Veterans Administration Hospital. Dr. Jeff Volek is a professor and researcher at The Ohio State University and co-founder of Virta Health.