The Czech army has shrunk to just a quarter of its size since Prague shrugged off the yoke of Communism two decades ago, but a new report has prompted it to pursue a different type of downsizing.
Military doctors raised the alarm when they discovered that half of the army’s 22,000 personnel are overweight, and 3,500 are obese.
The army has decided on a quick counterattack, soldiers will go on a diet and the army may even deploy fat-fighting pills.
The Defence Ministry confirmed the obesity figures but said pills were only a last-resort weapon, following diet and exercise.
The Czechs are members of the NATO alliance and have around 700 troops in Afghanistan.
Source: www.reuters.com
