Whose soldiers are chubby and unfit?

Germany's young soldiers are fat, smoke too much and don't exercise enough, a report on the armed services has said.

"The public perception is that soldiers are slim, sporty and healthy. Unfortunately, the reality is very different," said Germany's army commissioner Reinhold Robbe as he presented the report.

Some 40 per cent of soldiers between 18 and 29 are overweight compared to 35 per cent among Germany's civilian population, said the report, which also found young male and female soldiers smoked too much and failed to do enough sport.

"I make no secret of the fact that these results worry me a lot," said Robbe, who blamed a passive lifestyle among troops. Once one of the world's most-feared fighting forces, Germany's armed forces now have about 245,000 uniformed staff.

Dogged by the legacy of World War Two, it is only nine years ago that Germany engaged in its first foreign combat operations since 1945, taking part in NATO air strikes in Yugoslavia.

Roughly 9000 German troops are deployed today in global hotspots including Afghanistan and Kosovo.

- Reuters