The Swedish Defence Force’s General Physician, Brigadier General Claes Ivgren, has voiced concerns about the declining physical health of Swedes.
On January 9, in an interview with Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, he warned the situation could jeopardise the nation’s ability to defend itself.
According to Ivgren, Swedes generally were suffering increasing rates of obesity and physical inactivity. A deterioration in public health severely compromised Sweden’s fighting capabilities in times of crisis or war, he said.
“I am very concerned about this. When we are building a defence capability in Sweden, we are not constructing it with gadgets, but with people,” he said.
Ivgren further highlighted what he called the critical link between physical fitness and durability.
“Individuals with poorer fitness levels have diminished endurance. We’ve observed that Russia targets civilian areas in Ukraine to sap the population’s will to resist,” he noted.
“If you are less fit, you also have less resilience. What we see in Ukraine is that Russia attacks civilian targets to try to break down the population so that they will give up.”
According to Ivgren, physical health was a cornerstone of a population’s ability to operate long-term effectively.
“Physical health also impacts our mental resilience. When daily life becomes too challenging, the likelihood of lacking the mental stamina [to continue] increases,” he said.
He also expressed concern about Swedish military recruitment numbers.
“Out of approximately 20,000 to 25,000 applicants who go through the muster, we select only 8,000. While this provides a solid base, especially as we expand, my concern lies with the remainder,” he remarked.
Data from Sweden’s Public Health Agency showed that in 2022 more than half of the Swedish adult population was overweight or obese.
A Eurostat 2022 report confirmed that, revealing 52.7 per cent of Sweden’s population was overweight, placing the country in the top tier of European nations in terms of obesity rates.
While Ivgren has voiced concerns about rising obesity affecting its defence capabilities, other countries have also flagged similar issues.
The Guardian reported on December 24, that more than 10,000 people serving in the armed forces are “not medically deployable”.
In January last year, The Telegraph reported that UK government figures had revealed almost 30,000 military personnel – about 30 per cent of the total – across all three services were not fully fit for combat due to physical and mental health issues. The British Army was reportedly worst hit.
In 2023, the American Security Project (ASP) released a white paper showing that nearly 70 per cent of active-duty service members are overweight or obese and that obesity is the leading disqualifier of military applicants and a primary contributor to in-service injuries and medical discharges.
The Swedish Home Guard, the military reserve force of the Swedish Armed Forces, faces a soldier shortage after a wave of applicants realised what joining up would entail. https://t.co/ocF9e00Mhb
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) August 23, 2024
