Posted in

Marines to leverage X-ray scanners to measure body fat composition

by thebesig••40

The Marines have decided to leverage X-ray technology to measure a person’s body fat composition. Instead of the traditional method of using a tape to determine body fat composition, an X-ray system is used to do the measuring.

A Marine will not be assigned to the body composition program unless they’ve had this X-ray procedure completed. According to Major Tamara Velding, who volunteered to help test this method, the procedure was not invasive and data collection was approximately half an hour.

From the Military Times:

Marines previously were subject solely to the tape test method, which measures a service member’s neck, waist and other body parts against their height.

Under the new guidelines, however, troops will not be subsequently assigned to the service’s body composition program ? which helps to manage weight or separates them for not meeting standards ? until their body composition also is calculated using the new X-ray scanners and other tech employed in the study.

The Marine Corps’ Training and Education Command already began fielding 257 of the machines to prepare for the upcoming requirement, according to a release from the command.

Col. Eric R. Quehl, director of policy and standards for the Marine Corps’ training and education command, told Marine Corps Times during an interview in September what drove the service to explore this switch: “The whole purpose of us looking at this issue, taking a really hard look at it, is ensuring that we do have a good proper balance between performance, health and well-being of the force,” he said. “And of course readiness.”

Maj. Tamara Velding volunteered for the body composition study at The Basic School in Quantico, Virginia, becoming one of more than 2,000 Marines who signed up to participate.

“All of the equipment and technology was really simple,” she told Marine Corps Times in September 2022, saying the whole data collection took about 30 minutes in total. “It didn’t feel invasive or anything like that.”

lUnder the new guidelines, however, troops will not be subsequently assigned to the service’s body composition program, which helps to manage their weight or separates them for not meeting standards, until their body composition a calculated using the new X-ray scanners and other tech employed in the study.

The Military Times has additional information here.

You might also like

Marines changing rifle marksmanship training, eliminate Scout Sniper school

Tanks Again for All the Heavy Stuff!

Iran denies US destroyed an Iranian drone near Persian Gulf

40 thoughts on “Marines to leverage X-ray scanners to measure body fat composition”

  1. I’m not a fan of X-rays – although the newer versions are better than what we were subject to in the ’60s – but it’s gotta be more accurate than the tape joke.

    It can, possibly, actually determine fat as opposed to uber-beast-mode muscle.

    Note: those Meal-Team-6 members are a disgrace.

    2. In order to see soft (fat) tissue with X-rays, a lower energy is required and a much shorter exposure time than that required for say a standard bone X-ray. Hence a very low dose of radiation. Much less than an airplane flight (natural space radiation interacting or going through the skin of the plane).

    3. “Note: those Meal-Team-6 members are a disgrace.”

      How can you really tell without X-rays?

    1. That’s who gets “voluntold” as soon as the words “I need a volunteer…” re heard because he can’t run as fast as the others!

  6. This is going to get complicated when troops overweight troops who identify as a woman has a penis show up on the X-Ray. So does he/she be judged on male or female standards?

    1. Good God, almighty. I didn’t even think about the “which gender’s weight standards you use” question when someone pretends to be the opposite sex. Thanks for making think about that bullshit. On second thought, I will wrap myself up in my DD-214 quilt (made of 4 DD-214s – when dropped to reserves after basic, upon commissioning, upon accepting a regular commission [augmentation], upon retirement) and sleep soundly.

      1. Yes, because it is verifiable that real women have on average a higher percentage of body fat than males.

  7. X-rays were discovered in 1895 by Wilhelm Rontgen, a German physicist. Glad to see our Marines stepping up and embracing 19th century tech.

    1. A German? We need to cancel X-Rays immediately, he was probably a Nazi, even if the Nazi Party didn’t exist for another 35 years.

    1. Non-invasive………until they glow in the dark.

  11. So many questions… what training will the operators of the system receive? What safeguards are there against overexposure? …against intentional misuse? How are the exposures going to be tracked? A strong argument can be made that these are not medically-necessary exposures, so this poses a huge violation of the ALARA concept.
    I see some lawsuits in the not to distant future when people develop cancers and blame the X-ray exposures they received from these devices.

    2. Props for recognizing the ALARA concept! Radiation safety is radiation safety and still important…looking at you TSA.

    4. I am curious about how many PTSD cases will be caused by overexposure to traumatic radiation.

  12. I could be wrong, but I think the one that “appears to identify as female”, is an LT. Way to enforce those standards, Ma’am!

    1. I’m curious about one thing: will it be Marines operating these machines or Navy corpsmen?🤣

  14. Not sure how I feel about removing the sponge from the bullet-sponge Marine Corps. I see many tactical reasons to have thick, very thick, jarheads! 🙂

  15. Were you in the Marine Corps during the years 2022-20??

    Were you subjected to X-Rays as part of the Marine Corps Fat Shaming policy?

    You may be entitled to significant compensation.

    1. “Dial 1-800-SHYSTER(749-7837) for your free consultation. We don’t get paid unless you win. We also handle COVID-19 malpractice.”

      1. Naw, he woulda been disbarred no matter what he did. His lawering days were over even if he hadn’t decided to show his incompetence as a pilot one last time.

  16. “The study will compare whole body scans, body fat percentage and body shape to the physical fitness test and combat fitness test scores of Marines to come to a more scientific body composition standard.”

    Because it is necessary to quantify fitness to at least three decimal places, whether they can pass the fitness test or not. Gotta make that uniform look Good!

    https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2021/05/13/marine-corps-to-re-evaluate-body-composition-standards/

Comments are closed.