Threats to National Security: Physical Inactivity and Ineffective Physical Education

Background/Purpose: The number of American adolescents meeting current physical activity guidelines is perilously low.  The number of Americans able to meet basic physical requirements for military service is 25%. Policy change is recognized as among the most efficient means for increasing population-levels of physical activity (PA). Numerous organizations and individuals have spent substantial resources advocating for policies that would yield increased in PA, but those efforts are falling short. This may stem from advocates having primarily emphasized the individual and public health burdens associated with low PA when talking with policy makers.  If low PA was also presented as a threat to national security, perhaps policy makers would be more likely to enact change.  The main goal of this session is to make a compelling case for the association between low PA and national security through the opinions of active duty military officers.

Method: Purposive sampling was used to recruit commissioned and noncommissioned officers representing all military branches in South Carolina. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview guide which included open-ended and follow up probing questions. The interview guide was piloted and questions were revised to increase clarity. The interview included demographic items as well as five main questions with appropriate follow ups.

Analysis/Results: Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the demographic data for the representative sample of military officers. Emergent themes were identified following the transcription of each recorded interview. The themes were coded using a code list that was developed a-priori by multiple coders. Low physical activity and ineffective physical education was consistently noted as possible threats to national security. Additionally, differences in the value placed on physical activity and preparedness were discovered between different military branches and commissioned/noncommissioned officers. 

Conclusions: Based on these results it appears like physical inactivity and ineffective physical education are a threat to national security and the development and implementation of physical activity based policy may be necessary for change.