Affirmative Evidence Packet
The Leadership Conference Education Fund, 2011, Transportation Policy and Access to Health Care, p2-3
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- Health impacts communities of color disproportionately
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- Unequal Transportation Leads to Unequal Health Care
The Leadership Conference Education Fund, 2011, Transportation Policy and Access to Health Care, p2-3.The poorest fifth of American families spend 42 percent of their incomes on transportation.16 This massive expenditure can wipe out already limited budgets for out-of-pocket medical expenses, nutritious food, and healthy recreational activities. Because affordable housing is increasingly located far from main transportation lines and jobs, low-income people and people of color are more likely to have long commutes—which reduce time for exercise, shopping for healthy foods, and additional earning opportunities.17 Fast-moving traffic on highways literally may divide communities, especially those with elderly people and people with disabilities, and this isolation is associated with higher mortality and morbidity in the elderly.18
Lindholm, 2011, (Raymond Lindholm, Georgia State University College of Law, Center for Health, Law, & Society) “Combating childhood obesity: A survey of laws affecting the built environments of low-income and minority children”, Review of Environment and Health 2011 These statistics represent a more than three-fold increase over the past three decades, with a disproportionate number coming from poor and minority populations (6). In their 2010 study of the 2007-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), Ogden et al. (6) found that 15.6% of white-American females between 6 and 19 years of age are obese as compared with 25.9% of black-American females and 19.7% of Mexican-American females in the same age group. Although some evidence suggests that the trend in overweight among children has begun to stabilize since 2003 (7), the 2007 NSCH report found that a significant rise in levels of obesity continues (5). Military Readiness Add-On 1/2Obesity hurts retention and recruiting Lisa Danielı, July 23 2012, American Forces Press Service, “Family Matters Blog: Tackling Obesity, for Security’s Sake” Concerns about the quick rise in obesity – some call it an epidemic -- and its potential to harm military readiness are not new. Ever since 100 retired generals and admirals formed the nonprofit organization “Mission: Readiness” and released its landmark 2010 report “Too Fat to Fight” to convince Congress to mandate healthy school lunches, federal officials, at least, have known of the military imperative to reverse the fat trend. The report included the services’ assessment that 75 percent of the nation’s 17- to 24-year-olds do not qualify for military service – mostly due to obesity. Those concerns were reiterated last month when the Bipartisan Policy Center released its report, “Lots to Lose,” which shows alarming trends not only in recruiting, but also in retention due to overweight
President Harry S. Truman’s decision to mandate the federal school lunch program. The focus then, however, was vitamin deficiencies.
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_kl=13305&page=8 Beyond its effects on recruitment and retention, obesity imposes a significant financial burden on the military for medical care. DoD spends about $1.1 billion annually on the military for medical care. DoD spends about $1.1 billion annually on medical care associated with excess weight and obesity for active-duty personnel, their dependents, and veterans (Dall et al., 20007)
(Cowan et al., 2011). These types of injuries can force recruits to repeat boot camp or leave the military altogether. These injuries also are responsible for one-quarter of all medical evacuations from Iraq and Afghanistan to medical facilities in Germany, compared with 14 percent of medical evacuations due to combat injuries (Cohen et al., 2010). In other words, said Barnett, “soldiers are 71 percent more likely to be evacuated out of Iraq or Afghanistan for a serious sprain or stress fracture than they are for a combat wound.”
Readiness Overview: Ready or Not? U.S. Military Readiness Now and for the Future, http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2008/changeforamerica/pdf/readiness.pdf)
As a global power with global interests, the United States needs its armed forces to be ready to respond whenever and wherever our strategic interests are threatened. Readiness 101 Readiness measures the degree to which a military force is prepared for and capable of conducting operational missions. In peacetime, the U.S. military prepares for a broad range of missions derived from the National Security Strategy, the National Military Strategy, and the operational plans of the regional combatant commanders. During times of war, units slated to deploy focus their preparation on the specific missions they will be tasked to undertake in the given theater of operations. A military force does not have a high level of readiness unless it has the personnel, training, and equipment it needs to accomplish its assigned missions. It can be judged unready if, for example, a unit does not have enough deployable personnel to fill out its ranks or does not have people with the right mix of skill sets. It can also be judged unready if a unit has not successfully completed the individual and unit training required for a given mission, or if it lacks a full complement of functioning equipment. Recruiting and retaining personnel, having time and facilities available for training, and acquiring and maintaining equipment all affect a unit’s ability to maintain readiness.
Facts About Military Readiness”, http://www.heritage.org/about/staff/s/jack-spencer) Military readiness is vital because declines in America's military readiness signal to the rest of the world that the United States is not prepared to defend its interests. Therefore, potentially hostile nations will be more likely to lash out against American allies and interests, inevitably leading to U.S. involvement in combat. A high state of military readiness is more likely to deter potentially hostile nations from acting aggressively in regions of vital national interest, thereby preserving peace. Active transportation solves: More cycling solves obesity and improves readiness Jonathan Maus, 6-22-12, (publisher and editor—Bike Portland.Org), http://bikeportland.org/2012/06/22/thenational- security-argument-for-safe-routes-to-school-73716 One major factor that keeps young people out of the military is the obesity epidemic. Mission Readiness says it's "one of the top disqualifiers for military service" and that one out of four young adults between the ages of 17-24 are too overweight to serve. One way to combat that obesity problem is to get them biking and walking to school. Here's how they put it: While not a silver bullet to this multifaceted problem, one way to increase physical activity and promote weight control is increasing options for more students — and adults for that matter — to safely bike and walk. ...Alone, such investments are not going to solve the nation’s child obesity problem, but they should be included as part of our ongoing community efforts to ensure that our child obesity crisis does not become an even more serious national security threat. So there you have it. More cycling, more soldiers, more security. Military Readiness ExtensionsObesity epidemic threatens national security Aaron French, July 19, 2011, “Weighing in on Americas Military Readiness,” http://praemon.org/2011/07/19/weighing-in-on-americas-military-readiness/ The U.S. is facing an obesity epidemic that prevents as many as 30% of adults from participating in military service. This is troubling news for a country that is embroiled in three conflicts overseas and has tired its all-volunteer military with repeated deployments. The C.I.A. claims that the U.S. has approximately 145 million men and women that could be called into service if necessary, and says that of that 145 million approximately 120 million are currently fit for service. The number of those fit for service are being worn thinner and thinner in their repeated deployments overseas while those remaining at home are growing larger. The obesity epidemic represents for U.S. national security not only a drain on health care resources, but a potential liability in the case that the U.S. needs to mobilize for a large conventional war. Even those recruits deemed fit and healthy for service require weeks and even months before they are prepared, conditioned and trained sufficiently to handle the rigors and stresses of combat. Those deemed too overweight to serve are a complete loss to the military, and those that barely meet the requirement are certain to need longer conditioning and training times. The longer we need to train an increasingly overweight population for service in war, the more uncertain our ability to defend ourselves in a time sensitive situation becomes. 27 percent of young adults are obese threatening military readiness Mission Readiness: Military Leaders for Kids, 2010, Too Fat to Fight Retired Military Leaders Want Junk Food Out of America’s Schools, p. 1 Mission: Readiness, an organization of retired senior military leaders, is warning Congress that at least nine million 17- to 24-year-olds in the United States are too fat to serve in the military. That is 27 percent of all young adults. Obesity rates among children and young adults have increased so dramatically that they threaten not only the overall health of America but also the future strength of our military. Obesity epidemic threatens national security Mission Readiness: Military Leaders for Kids, 2010, Too Fat to Fight: Retired Military Leaders Want Junk Food Out of America’s Schools, p. 1 As retired U.S. Army General Johnnie E. Wilson says: “Child obesity has become so serious in this country that military leaders are viewing this epidemic as a potential threat to our national security. We need America’s service members to be in excellent physical condition because they have such an important job to do. Rigorous service standards are critical if we are to maintain the fighting readiness of our military.” Military Readiness ExtensionsNumber of rejections due to obesity increased 70% Mission Readiness: Military Leaders for Kids, 2010, Too Fat to Fight Retired Military Leaders Want Junk Food Out of America’s Schools, p.2 The number of recruits actually turned away after taking their physicals has risen dramatically in the last decade. If a young man or woman seeking to enter the military is otherwise qualified but is obviously too heavy, a recruiter will not schedule a trip for that person to the regional Military Entrance Processing Center. But between 1995 and 2008, the military had 140,000 individuals who showed up at the centers for processing but failed their entrance physicals because they were too heavy.6 Being overweight is now by far the leading medical reason for rejection, and between 1995 and 2008, the proportion of potential recruits who failed their physicals each year because they were overweight rose nearly 70 percent.7 Bad economy is temporary and not a solution to readiness Mission Readiness: Military Leaders for Kids, 2010, Too Fat to Fight: Retired Military Leaders Want Junk Food Out of America’s Schools, p. 3 The recent recession has temporarily reduced the challenges the nation’s 15,000 military recruiters face in meeting their quotas for signing up qualified individuals.18 But recruiters remember the recent past when they could not sign up enough young men and women to meet the nation’s needs.19 Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Clifford Stanley recently warned Congress about the need to avoid a “boom or bust” recruiting cycle.20 And retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General Norman R. Seip has warned that “a failing economy is no formula for filling the ranks of a strong military, and these longer-term eligibility problems are not going away. 20 Unequal Transportation Leads to Unequal Health Care
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