The Marine Corps is considering boosting acceptable weight limits for women.
This potential switch in standards is reportedly intended to allow women to bulk up, in order to pass rigorous standards necessary to join ground combat units. With more muscle, these women will ideally suffer fewer injuries and slightly shrink the physical fitness gap with their male counterparts.
Marine Gen. Robert Neller, the service’s 37th commandant, said Tuesday at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that women in the Marine Corps are starting to lift some serious weights in order to prepare them for entry into male-dominated fields, which has pushed them over existing weight standards, The Washington Post reports.
“Being big, strong, having a certain body mass, gives you an advantage,” Neller said at the hearing. “One of the things I’ve heard as I’ve gone around and talked to female Marines is, ‘Hey, I’m out working out. I’m lifting weights. I’m getting bigger. And now I’m outside the height-and-weight standards. Are you going to change the height-and-weight standards?'”
Neller has already asked for a review of weight standards to be completed by July 1. In November, Neller asked the Training and Education Command to look into the scoring system on the fitness tests and to re-examine height, weight and body fat standards. Under current regulations, men may not exceed 18 percent body fat and women may not exceed 26 percent.
A change to regulations will likely allow women to bulk up to pass intense physical standards, while still sliding in under the maximum allowed weight.
“After listening and talking with Marines at all levels across the Corps, I’m convinced that we need a comprehensive and holistic review of our physical fitness evaluations and body composition standards,” Neller said, according to Marine Corps Times. “I want to make sure these efforts are mutually supportive and relevant to keeping Marines fit and ready.”
The Marine Corps is the only service that requested an exemption to keep some combat roles male-only. Defense Secretary Ash Carter denied that exemption request and ordered all services to fully integrate by April 1.
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