For a full analysis of the cognitive and academic decline, see America's Worst Generation Is Dumber Than Us, Research Confirms at The Gateway Pundit.

Along with the cognitive decline is a physical decline. Generation Z is overweight, sedentary, medicated, and increasingly unfit for military service, with only one in four members of the generation eligible to enlist without a waiver. Employers are similarly rejecting the generation: six in ten companies have already fired Gen Z hires, one in three hiring managers actively avoid them, and 37% of employers say they would rather hire artificial intelligence than a recent graduate.

Obesity is the single leading disqualifier, with more than a third of 17- to 24-year-olds too heavy to serve, and the DoD reports that approximately 77% of people between the ages of 17 and 24 require some type of waiver to serve due to one or more disqualifications. ASVAB aptitude scores have fallen 9%, and only 23% of youth qualify on physical, educational, and conduct grounds combined. Furthermore, under Executive Order 14183, service members must serve in their birth gender, while individuals diagnosed with gender dysphoria are now disqualified from service, further narrowing the eligible pool.

The physical consequences of a sedentary generation are measurable globally. A WHO analysis of 1.6 million students aged 11–17 across 146 countries found that in 2016, 77.6% of boys and 84.7% of girls failed to meet basic physical activity guidelines. Retired Army Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling stated in the CDC's report that the military has experienced increasing difficulty recruiting soldiers as a result of physical inactivity, obesity, and malnutrition among the nation's youth, warning that failure to address these issues will impact future national security.

A study published in Pediatrics (March 2024) using the IQVIA Longitudinal Prescription Database found that between January 2016 and December 2022, the monthly antidepressant dispensing rate for Americans aged 12 to 25 increased by 66.3%. The increase was sharpest among females: the average monthly rate for women aged 18 to 25 was 56.5% higher after March 2020, and for girls aged 12 to 17 the rate was 129.6% higher.

A survey by Harmony Healthcare IT found that 34% of Gen Z report currently taking prescription medication for mental health, with an additional 19% reporting use of non-prescribed substances such as cannabis to manage symptoms. Under current DoD accession standards, a past diagnosis of depression, anxiety, or other disorders, along with the medications used to treat them, may disqualify recruits or require a waiver.

The physical decline of Generation Z extends beyond obesity into fundamental motor skills. A 2025 systematic review published in Pediatric Discovery, searching databases including PubMed and the Cochrane Register, found that elevated screen time among children under five is associated with deficits in both gross and fine motor skills.