Army Releases Hooton's Report On Foot Soldiers

A recently-released report compiled by the late Ernest A. Hooton, professor of Anthropology, shows that infantrymen's physiques are better than those of soldiers in any other section of the Army.

Hooton's study, for which he examined over 50,000 men, was performed in conjunction with the Quartermaster Department. It said that the infantry is "deficient" in all thin types, and in all submedium and medium fat types that would have a low degree of muscular development. It also noted deficiencies in fat and very-fat physiques.

Stressed Shortness

The report went on to stress the abundance among foot-soldiers of short, well-balanced men who are heavily muscled and exceptionally agile. It admitted that strenuous training might have had an effect on the men, but maintained that a soldier's basic physique was more important than conditioning.

In his research, Hooton also discovered that Americans are not only growing taller than ever before, but also staying slimmer when they are young and getting fatter as they age. Hooton also found that most men decrease slightly in their height after reaching maturity.

Officers in the services tend to be fat and privates thin, his report continued. Hooton had expected this fact, however, because officers, besides "doing less physical work," are older and have therefore grown heavier.

Considering the entire Army, the study concluded that the ground forces as a unit (including the infantry) follow the precedent set by the foot-soldiers and are better developed physically than the other departments. Neverthless, the report noted that there were a large number of exceptions to its general findings.