SUBJ: WEIGHT AND BODY FAT POLICY AND NUTRITIONAL COUNSELING
A. COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC 210115ZMAR09/ALCOAST 168/09
B. COAST GUARD WEIGHT AND BODY FAT STANDARDS PROGRAM MANUAL,
COMDTINST M1020.8 (SERIES)
1. PER REFERENCE A, ON 1 OCTOBER 2009, THE COAST GUARD (CG) WILL
ADVANCE ITS GOAL OF PROMOTING HEALTH AND FITNESS BY ADOPTING NEW
MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE WEIGHT (MAW) AND BODY FAT (BF) STANDARDS FOR ALL
ACTIVE DUTY AND RESERVE PERSONNEL. CHANGES TO THE STANDARDS
INCLUDE:
 A. ALL SCREENING MAW STANDARDS WILL CORRELATE TO A BODY MASS INDEX
(BMI) OF 27.5. BMI IS NON GENDER BASED AND BASED ONLY ON A MEMBERS
HEIGHT AND WEIGHT.
 B. ALL BF PERCENTAGES FOR THE STANDARD TAPE MEASURE TEST AND
ALTERNATIVE BF TESTS WILL LOWER BY ONE PERCENT FOR EACH AGE AND
GENDER GROUP. THE BF STANDARD IS AND WILL REMAIN AGE AND GENDER
BASED.
2. THE PURPOSE OF THIS CHANGE TO POLICY IS TO PROVIDE A MAW
SCREENING TOOL BASED ON A SCIENTIFICALLY RECOGNIZED HEALTH STANDARD
(BMI) AS WELL AS A SCREENING TOOL THAT WILL PROVIDE THE LEVEL OF
SENSITIVITY NEEDED TO IDENTIFY MEMBERS WHO MAY EXCEED THEIR MAX BF
AND ARE AT HIGHER RISK FOR CHRONIC DISEASES.
3. IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ESTABLISHED IN
REFERENCES A AND B, MEMBERS AND COMMANDS ARE REMINDED THAT AS OF 1
OCTOBER 2009:
 A. ALL MEMBERS WHO EXCEED THEIR BMI BASED MAW WILL BE TAPED TO
DETERMINE COMPLIANCE WITH AGE AND GENDER APPROPRIATE BF STANDARDS.
ONLY MEMBERS WHO EXCEED THEIR MAX BF WILL BE SUBJECT TO
ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION THAT CORRESPONDS WITH PROBATIONARY STATUS. AS
WITH EXISTING POLICY, EXCEEDING ONLY MAW WILL NOT PUT A MEMBER IN
PROBATIONARY STATUS. THE STANDARD IS AND WILL REMAIN A BODY FAT
BASED STANDARD.
 B. HAVING TO BE TAPED FOR BF AFTER EXCEEDING BMI BASED MAW
SCREENING SHOULD NOT BE PERCEIVED AS A NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCE BY THE
MEMBER OR THE COMMAND. AS MANY AS 30 PERCENT OF CG PERSONNEL WILL
BE TAPED FOR BF DUE TO EXCEEDING THE BMI BASED MAW. HOWEVER, MANY
OF THESE MEMBERS WILL NOT EXCEED MAX BF LIMITS. INCREASED
MUSCULATURE OF A MEMBER IS ONE REASON THAT SOMEONE MAY EXCEED THEIR
BMI BASED MAW BUT WILL HAVE A BF MEASUREMENT WELL WITHIN ALLOWABLE
LIMITS. AGAIN, THESE MEMBERS WILL NOT BE NEGATIVELY IMPACTED FOR
NEEDING TO BE TAPED.
 C. COMPLIANCE WITH THE NEW STANDARD WILL BEGIN 1 OCTOBER 2009. ANY
PERSON EXCEEDING THEIR MAX BF STANDARD AT THE OCTOBER SEMI-ANNUAL
WEIGH-IN WILL BE PLACED ON PROBATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH POLICY. ALL
PREVIOUS PROBATIONARY PERIODS WILL REMAIN ON RECORD.
4. AS DIRECTED IN REFERENCE A, ALL MEMBERS WILL BE TEST SCREENED
AGAINST THE BMI BASED MAW DURING THIS APRILS WEIGH IN. THOSE IN
COMPLIANCE WITH EXISTING MAW BUT SCREENING GREATER THAN THE FUTURE
BMI BASED MAW WILL BE TAPED FOR BF AWARENESS ONLY. TO FACILITATE
SAFE AND EFFECTIVE WEIGHT LOSS FOR COMPLIANCE WITH THE FUTURE BODY
FAT STANDARD, COMDT (CG-11) HIGHLY RECOMMENDS THAT INDIVIDUALS
EXCEEDING THE FUTURE BF STANDARD, AS DETERMINED DURING THE APRIL
2009 WEIGH-IN PERIOD, SEEK THE RESOURCES OF THEIR REGIONAL HEALTH
PROMOTION MANAGER (RHPM) LISTED AT THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE -
HTTP://WWW.USCG.MIL/HQ/CG1/CG111/CONTACT.ASP. COMDT (CG-11) ALSO
AUTHORIZES ONE VISIT WITH A REGISTERED DIETICIAN FOR ANY CG AD AND
SELRES MEMBER ON AD ORDERS FOR 30 DAYS OR MORE FOUND TO EXCEED
THEIR NEW MAW AND MAX BODY FAT DURING THE APRIL 2009 WEIGH-IN.
THESE MEMBERS WILL NOT BE PLACED ON WEIGHT PROBATION FOR EXCEEDING
THE FUTURE STANDARD IN APRIL BUT WILL BE AFFORDED THE OPPORTUNITY
TO RECEIVE NUTRITIONAL COUNSELING SO THAT THEY CAN SAFELY LOSE
EXCESS WEIGHT AND BODY FAT BEFORE THE NEW STANDARD IS IMPLEMENTED
ON 1 OCTOBER 2009. THIS INITIATIVE WILL BE IN EFFECT FROM 1 APRIL
2009 UNTIL 1 OCTOBER 2009.
5. BEFORE A MEMBER CAN BE EVALUATED BY A REGISTERED DIETICIAN, HE
OR SHE MUST BE REFERRED TO A DIETICIAN BY HIS OR HER PRIMARY CARE
MANAGER. NOTE- THIS IS NOT A TRICARE BENEFIT, BUT THE COST WILL BE
COVERED BY CG WITH PROPER REFERRAL AND APPROVAL BY THE HSWL SUPACT.
MEMBERS CAN CONTACT THEIR LOCAL HEALTH BENEFITS ADVISOR (HBA) OR
THE HEALTH BENEFITS ASSISTANCE LINE AT 1-800-9HBAHBA
(1-800-942-2422).
6. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON WEIGHT MANAGEMENT, MEMBERS CAN GO
TO THE FOLLOWING COMDT (CG-111) WORK-LIFE WEBSITE,
HTTP://WWW.USCG.MIL/HQ/CG1/CG111. SELECT HEALTH PROMOTION AND THEN
SELECT WEIGHT MANAGEMENT.
7. COMMANDS WITH QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS POLICY ARE ENCOURAGED TO
CONTACT THEIR RESPECTIVE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OR RHPM. RHPMS WITH
QUESTIONS REGARDING HEALTH PROMOTION MAY CONTACT MS. AIMEE
LABRECQUE, COMDT (CG-1111), AT EMAIL AIMEE.E.LABRECQUE(AT)USCG.MIL
OR (202) 475-5153. ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL WITH QUESTIONS
REGARDING POLICY MAY CONTACT LTJG FRANK MARCHESKI, COMDT (CG-1221),
AT  EMAIL FRANK.A.MARCHESKI(AT)USCG.MIL OR (202) 475-5382.
8. RELEASED BY RADM MARK J. TEDESCO, DIRECTOR, HEALTH, SAFETY, AND
WORK-LIFE.
9. INTERNET RELEASE IS AUTHORIZED.