What kind of health are our vets in when they return from the war? A study from the American Journal of Preventative Medicine shows that a lot of veterans are in poorer health than many members of the general public.

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Survey results from nearly 169,000 total participants show that veterans are more prone to report diabetes, more likely to smoke and drink than civilians, and less likely to exercise, but there is an anomaly in the data.

National Guard and Reserve men demonstrated higher rates of obesity, and cardiovascular disease compared to civilians.

Robin Paul with the Indianapolis VA Medical Center says the VA does have a lot of programs that can help vets returning from overseas, and says one particularly effective tool for combating obesity, diabetes and other metabolic disorders is tele-medicine, which gives access to doctors without having to go to a facility in person.