MORE than a quarter of troops are too fat to fight, figures obtained by The Sun on Sunday show.
Of the military’s 147,300 service personnel, 40,063 were at “increased, high or very high risk” of ill health owing to their weight in the past year.
One member of the Armed Forces lost his own battle of the bulge when he was medically discharged weighing 26st 3lb, figures released under Freedom of Information laws reveal.
Others weighing 26st and 23st also had to leave.
The five tubbiest troops discharged had a combined weight of 121st.
Obese soldiers, sailors and air crew would not be deployed to many frontline roles — cutting the military’s fighting strength.
The FoI data also revealed more than 320 soldiers were diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes — a form of the disease linked to lifestyle.
And 343 troops over the Army, Navy and RAF — 242 male and 101 female — took weight-loss drugs, while 11 had procedures such as gastric bands and liposuction.
Former senior officer Colonel Phil Ingram said: “There is no excuse to allow troops to become overweight and obese. You can’t join the Armed Forces if you are overweight so this is happening while people are serving.
“This is a crisis and a failure of commanders to ensure troops are fit to fight.”
An MoD spokesman said: “Where service personnel experience weight-related issues, comprehensive medical and dietary support is provided.”
