Trends in overweight and obesity among 18-year-old applicants to the United States military, 1993-2006.

We examined trends in overweight and obesity among 756,269 18-year-old civilian applicants to the United States military from 1993-2006. The prevalence of overweight increased from 22.8% in 1993 to 27.1% in 2006, and obesity increased from 2.8% to 6.8%. We conclude the U.S. military is recruiting from an increasingly overweight population.