Lännen Media reports that the new conscripts in the Finnish military are in poor physical shape.
This year's conscripts ran an average of 2,423 meters in the Cooper Test, a 12 minute endurance test.
The last time conscripts performed nearly as poorly was in 2004, when the average was 2,430 meters, the paper writes.
Overall condition of Finnish conscripts – at least according to Cooper Test results – has been in decline since the late 1970s.
During peak years that decade conscripts were running distances of 2,760 meters in the test.
Lack of daily exercise
The Defence Forces Major Harri Koskinen pointed at conscripts' lack of daily physical exercise and lifestyle habits as being the culprits behind the low test results.
"Unfortunately, the all-time worst results in the 12 minute running test confirms that young men have even more weakened endurance health," Koskinen said.
Also for the first time in recorded history, more than 25 percent of new conscripts were classified as being in poor physical condition.
According to Cooper Test guidelines, males who run less than 2,200 meters and females who run less than 2,000 meters in 12 minutes are in poor physical condition.
To receive praiseworthy Cooper results men should be able to run more than 3,000 meters and women 2,800 meters during the 12 minute test, according to the paper.