Young Chinese men are 'too fat and masturbate too much' to join army, state media says

The Chinese army have come up with a bizarre reason as to why more and more young men are failing to pass their fitness examinations.

According to the state run military newspaper People's Liberation Army Daily, the failure rates among young people has becoming alarmingly high.

The situation has reportedly become so bad that more than half of the applicants in one Chinese city, around 57 per cent, failed the physical exam and were rejected.

The Chinese authorities have reacted strongly to this apparently rapid decline, with Forces reporting that military chiefs have been failing to find recruits in recent years.

This latest set back has lead them to blame poor diets, lack or exercise and bad sleeping habits.

They also managed to blame masturbation for the problem, which they claim has resulted in candidates developing abnormalities in testicular veins.

Some psychologists say that regular masturbation is actually a good thing.

The army claimed that 8 per cent of their male candidates suffered from the aforementioned problem, which they linked to too much sitting down.

The Evening Standard quote them as saying:

This is related to sitting too long on computer games, excessive masturbation and too little physical activity.

Video games and self pleasure weren't the only unusual problems that they highlighted.

Officials blamed smart phones, tablets and other electronic gadgets for bad eye sight, which was reported in 46 per cent of potential prospects.

Fizzy drink and unclean water were attributed to the damage of some candidates' livers and gallbladders.

The military also blamed tattoos in the report, but don't expand on why they are an issue.

The original report was shared on China's messenger app, WeChat, but quickly attracted ridicule as some believed it was nothing more than a recruitment tactic.

It was then followed up with a new, slightly more positive statement, where they pointed out that America had actually turned down 80 per cent of their applicants in 2014.

China has actually relaxed its standards for recruits in recent years, in order to attract more people from less typical backgrounds.

This included lowering the height and eyesight requirements.

Major General Zhu Chenghu is quoted as saying:

The general quality of young recruits has actually improved over the years, with many college students holding degrees in engineering and international relation.

A strong body is still very important for a soldier, but education is now more valuable than ever in building a strong, modern military.

HT Evening Standard Daily Mail China Military Forces

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