There are no accurate statistics on the numbers of overweight officers subjected to examinations and slimming programmes, as units conceal such data for military secrecy, but numbers are estimated to be in their thousands… Iraqi officers and their journey to lose weight or lose a promotion.

The image of an athletic, muscular officer is unfamiliar and rare in the Iraqi army, as being overweight and having a large paunch is the prevailing pattern. However, this image has been exacerbated significantly since the previous regime collapsed in 2003, and the army was re-established with the inclusion of “integration officers.” These officers were initially fighters that did not graduate from the Military Academy but used to work for parties opposing Saddam Hussein’s regime outside Iraq. They were later integrated into the army and other security and military ranks after their parties seized power. 

Fitness control in the Iraqi army was absent for years after 2003 until the Army Chief of Staff issued a decision on 10 November 2022, that imposed strict instructions regarding the physical agility of officers and subjected them to procedures that, if neglected, could lead to their early retirement. General Yahiya Rasoul, spokesman for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, said that the recent decision by the Chief of Staff was previously in force as a condition for promotion. However, generals who appear on television seem to show this is not the case as they often look overweight or have flaccid paunches. An army colonel, who refused to give his name, because he was unauthorised to speak to the media, denied linking promotions in the military to agility during the past twenty years. 

Strict procedures 

On 22 November 2022, a classified document belonging to the Iraqi Army’s Chief of Staff was widely circulated. The document had eighteen directives regarding the weight of officers in the Iraqi military establishment, which is ranked 45th among the most powerful armies in the world by the American website “Global Power”. The document directed the Commander of Ground Forces to impose twelve strict measures on personnel of the rank of lieutenant or captain who were overweight and obligate them to commit to weight loss and sports otherwise they would be referred for retirement. The document also indicated that an examination of officers would take place annually and at specified times, while those who have promotions will be examined twice (a general examination and a promotion examination). According to the document, the Chief of Staff directed the Commander of Land Forces to summon some officers examined by the Medical Command to conduct a weight test to verify and compare their weights with  previous results. 

Saddam Hussien took decisions against ministers and military leaders in the nineties to reduce obesity by enrolling them on physical training courses. Officers who did not commit to the permissible weight and agility control would be denied their roles’ allocations and re-examined after six months. If an officer did not lose weight after the re-examination, he was relieved of his command and referred to command or for retirement – the command in the Ministry of Defence is the place for redundant officers. 

“The examination will occur annually within a certain timeline according to the new decision. Those who have promotions will be examined twice: in a general examination and in a promotion examination”, said Major General Dr Raad Mohsen, Director of Military Medical Affairs at the Ministry of Defence.  

The new procedures included examining those with weak hearts before enrolling them in sports sessions to avoid endangering their lives. “These medical examinations are essential for a soldier’s life – to maintain his stature and fitness and to carry out his duties efficiently”, said A’yad Al-Tufan, Brigadier General and security expert. 

Three categories 

Officers are examined in medical units deployed among twenty-four division and operation commands throughout Iraq, as well as another twenty-four places for examination within the Ground Forces’ headquarters. As Mohsen mentioned, “all doctors in any military unit are authorised to perform such examinations”. The greatest concern is that high-ranking officers may receive courtesies or pressure medical chiefs to falsify their weights in order to avoid impeachment.  

Officers with the rank of Brigadier General or above are obliged to attend the examination in Al-Hussein Military Hospital in al-Karrada district of central Baghdad, even if their units are in remote areas. The Iraqi military institution follows the “height minus 100” formula to measure the ideal weight for officers and soldiers, disregarding their age, unlike the “body mass index” formula previously used in the nineties for a short period. 

Being overweight is divided into three categories in military medicine: excess weight, obesity, and severe obesity. For example, if the officer is 170cm tall and weighs between seventy-one and eighty kilos, he is included in the excess weight or obesity category and is only subjected to pressure and follow-ups to lose weight. If he weighs more than eighty kilos, he is considered severely obese. Therefore, his file is referred to the Directorate of Military Medical Affairs in the Ministry of Defence to undergo stricter controls and a comprehensive medical examination to check his health. “The severely obese officer undergoes blood, sugar, and pressure checks, as well as a chest x-ray, an ECG, and other tests to make sure he is disease-free”, Mohsen explained. After examinations, the officer undergoes a twenty-one-day training programme, and in case he does not lose weight, he is given a different sports and nutrition plan. This process is repeated till he reaches a healthy weight, and then his weight is approved.  

The ill are excused 

Officers whose obesity has resulted from a disease or a treatment side-effect, such as that for hypothyroidism or asthma, are excused from training and fitness control. They, instead, are included in the “unfit for regulations” list after being checked by specialised and impartial doctors. These officers are allowed to remain in service but denied promotion to command positions. Those dismissed from the army are the “obstinate”, a term used to refer to officers with less than fifteen years of service who are unwilling to participate in fitness training courses.  

There are no accurate statistics on the numbers of overweight officers subjected to examinations and slimming programmes, as units conceal such data for military secrecy. Mohsen, however, estimates their numbers to be in the thousands. Mohsen says that food prepared in the kitchens of military units is made according to specific measurements. Therefore, it is currently acceptable, as it would not cause extra weight gain. 

Two soldiers told Jummar that they get three meals per day. Breakfast consists of soup, cheese, cream, jam, boiled eggs, tea, and Samoon [Iraqi bread]; while lunch is either grilled chicken or fish distributed on different days throughout the week, or sometimes rice and bean broth. As for dinner, it is usually fried food. However, a colonel in the Iraqi army mentioned that food served in the military is unhealthy. The soldiers say that their units include gyms and a training curriculum providing daily morning sports. While one mentions that all his colleagues exercise, the other says that he plays football every afternoon or evening with his unit colleagues under the supervision of specialised fitness committees. 

A colonel, who had previously suffered from obesity after being injured in battles against “ISIS”, pointed out the main problem within the military: “the reluctance of some officers to exercise”. He said that his injury had caused him to stay in bed for two months, increasing his weight by about forty kilos. He then had to set a diet and exercise programme for himself and was able to regain a healthy body weight.  

If physical fitness is a symbol of good looks in society, it may be a decisive factor on the battlefield for military officers. 

Jogging for hours 

Specialists in military affairs agree that being overweight reduces combat efficiency needed for deployment and rapid movement on the battlefield, which require running, sprinting, digging, climbing, dragging, lifting, carrying loads, rapidly loading ammunition, evacuating the wounded, and engaging with the enemy, in addition to motor skills in emergencies that include jumping, rolling, turning, lying flat, and shooting. 

“A soldier needs constant energy and the ability to engage in rapid movement, especially infantry officers”, said Mokhallad Hazem, a researcher in security and strategic affairs.  

Overweight officers and ranks are engaged in three-hour daily training that includes cardio and jogging to burn fat, in addition to having a special diet. 

No law explicitly states that overweight soldiers must be referred for retirement, according to legal experts Watheq Al-Zabbar, Ahmad Al-Abbadi, and Faisal Rikan. However, weight controls are based on the fact that the military requires agility and stamina, which are usually lacking in an overweight person. The Military Service and Retirement Act of 2010 stipulates that a lieutenant must “fulfill the requirements of physical fitness and good health”, and the same applies to volunteers. Slimming programmes are currently limited to officers but will apply to other ranks after enrolling officers up to the rank of lieutenant general, according to monthly schedules.  

Millions of obese 

Being overweight is directly related to many diseases, such as high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases, leading to lower work productivity. It is scientifically defined as excessive fat accumulation in the body, leading to an increase in weight that does not correspond to the person’s age and height. A person is considered obese if their weight is twenty per cent more than average.  

According to a report by the Iraqi Ministry of Health in 2019, the number of obese people had reached twenty-nine million, with sixty per cent of them having diabetes and nine per cent having high cholesterol and fat levels in their blood, all of which lead to the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure.  

The Iraqi military institution currently has about 538,000 members. Mohsen confirmed that the work would continue until the last paunch in the army, thus giving officers and soldiers appearances like those in great armies. 

This article was completed as part of a program organised by the American University of Beirut and supported by International Media Support. 

Published in conjunction with “Awan”. 

Translated from Arabic by Mariam Morsy.