Weight Requirements

Specialties Government

Published

Hi everyone,

I am seriously considering joining the Air Force but I have a crazy question. How strict are they on the weight requirement? I am about 7 lbs away from meeting it but wasn't sure how strict they were. Thanks!

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The weight limit is a 'hard' limit... if over then you get tape tested.

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Just is totally correct. I would be prepared to go in there about two pounds under according to the scale at home because then you know you're covered.

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Specializes in all.

I went to MEPS the 1st time 3 lbs under. Then the 2nd time through MEPS I was a single pound over and had to be taped. I was so shocked since my home scale had me 5 pounds under (before and after). So you never really know...

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That SUCKS!!!

When I went to MEPS, I was not long from having my horrid Mirena IUD removed (don't believe the "no weight gain", ladies - some of us are still affected by the hormones they claim are confined to one location...). I was three pounds under the max for my height and I knew it. I'd checked on THREE scales. At my physical, I got weighed by an Army person (I was in there with about twelve girls all enlisting in the Army; I was the only officer candidate and the only Air Force person in the room) and she proceeded to announce to the entire room that I was overweight. I asked her to check the weight standards - the Air Force chart was right on the board in front of us - and she insisted I was overweight. I stepped off the scale and to the side while everyone else was weighed in.

I guess for the Army standards I was overweight for my height and would need to be taped, but not for the Air Force.

Finally she listened to me - and then apologized for publicly embarrassing me in another room away from everyone. I wasn't impressed much.

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

I'll be getting taped. I've accepted it and moved on. :D

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It wasn't the getting taped that bothered me, if it had been necessary. No problem there.

It was really the announcement to the room that I was overweight that bugged me. I was fortunate enough to not be - the number was right on the scale - but what about some poor soul who actually was??

I've never really trusted the scales at a doctor's office myself. You have to wonder how much on and off they can take and if they're REALLY calibrated correctly.

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

Yeah, that was definitely lame! The apology should have been in front of all the spectators, too. Heh.

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Specializes in all.

nothing like being stripped down and told you are overweight in front of a bunch of twenty-somethings....:chair:

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

They'll be too busy looking at all my tattoos to hear my weight. Ha ha! Diversionary tactic. :D

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Specializes in ED. ICU, PICU, infection prevention, aeromedical e.

lol Lunah! When I went to MEPS this time I was in the room with 2 kids. You know stripped down to our underthings in a freezing room with some old doctor watching us do our ROM exercises. I think those kids creaked more than I did! (my knees crack and I was worried about the noise!)

My problem was that the girl took an inch of my height away. I thought I was almost 5'3", but I'm really not quite 5'2".

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Same thing happened to me. In a room full of 19 year olds. Nice.

And somewhere I shrunk an inch between home and MEPS - I, too, lost an inch!

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