Pete Hegseth says US troops ‘need to be fit, not fat’ as he attacks ‘completely unacceptable’ statistic

Pete Hegseth has said America's troops "need to be fit, not fat", after a report by the American Security Project found two-thirds of Guard and Reserve service members are overweight.

In a post to Twitter/X on Friday, 25 April, the US defense secretary branded the statistic "completely unacceptable" and said the Trump administration would be implementing "real fitness and weight standards".

It comes after he delivered a speech at the US Army War College in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, and said US troops "need to be fit, not fat" and "sharp, not shabby".