Young Chinese men and women are failing fitness tests to join the army because they're fat and masturbate too much, according to Chinese state media.
A WeChat post from state-run military newspaper People's Liberation Army Daily last weekend said that an increasing number of potential recruits are too obese to pass the tests, with poor diet cited as the main culprit. The paper also added that young men in particular have failed the tests due to varicocele (larger-than-normal testicular veins), which was attributed to frequent masturbation and a "sedentary lifestyle."
They also blamed excessive smartphone use and drinking water with too many minerals for the lack of fit youths.
In one unnamed city, as many as 56 percent of applicants were said to have failed the health test so far this year.
The PLA Daily also noted that because of high attrition rates, there may soon not be enough qualified young recruits to fill the army's ranks.
In response to the report, a commentary piece from Beijing Youth Daily said that those who failed to pass the exam "have only themselves to blame." (Other physical effects or diseases that are grounds for fitness test failure include body odor and flat feet, though Beijing Youth Daily noted that these two criteria are hereditary).
But state media were quick to dismiss rumors of "unfit" recruits entering the PLA. According to China Daily, there is no correlation between "increased number of turned down applicants [and] subpar recruits," though it did note that some requirements were relaxed in 2014 to attract more candidates with higher education backgrounds:
"The height requirement for a male candidate has been adjusted, decreasing from 162 centimeters to 160 cm, and for female candidates, from 160 cm to 158 cm.
"Moreover, [the Chinese military] also lowered eyesight requirements because nearly 70 percent of high school and university students in China are nearsighted, according to the national eyesight report by the Peking University."
[Top image via WSJ]
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