Yoga for American soldiers?

Pentagon studies say the military's obesity rate has nearly doubled since 2003. According to Horton, the military saw its obesity rate nearly triple from 1995 to 2008 alone, while the overall number of obese troops has grown from 1.6 per cent in 1998 to 4.4 per cent in 2008. In the US as a whole, more than two thirds of states now have an adult obesity rate above 25 per cent. In contrast, not a single state had a rate above 20 per cent in 1991.

ASKED by the US military for tips to help combat the growing problem of obesity in the ranks, a popular television fitness guru came up with an unusual answer: mind-soothing and body-bending yoga. 'The days of push ups, sit ups and long runs in the military are over,' said Tony Horton best known for his trendy 'P90X' workout regime that has trained celebrities like Usher, Bruce Springsteen and Sean Connery. MORE