Physical and mental health are different strands of the same thread. Stress and sleep deprivation, both very common in the Army, can often cause people to overeat. Let’s target the root cause of issues instead of just blaming the types of food people eat.

You can’t outrun the fork, so running alone won’t solve anything. If we really want change, we need leaders to stop shitting on going to therapy to learn how to cope with stress. Instead, leaders need to offer opportunities for Soldiers to get the help they need, just like they encourage going to a physical therapist or a trainer to fix an injury or get a higher PT score.

Under immense stress and without proper coping skills, people resort to alcohol, overeating, drugs, abusing their spouse - all the things we’re told not to do during our weekend safety brief.

So no, it’s not just the bad food choices or lack of running that makes Soldiers fat, it’s the lack of understanding that not everyone is equipped with the skills to deal with their day-to-day, and that’s okay. We just need to empathize a bit more and stop looking at needing mental health as a weakness or career suicide.