A FORMER soldier will continue to fight for his weight problem and diabetes to be linked to his time in the force, despite having his claims for compensation knocked back.
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Milawa man William Sheridan served three years in the defence force, from January 1972 to February 1975, and did not fight overseas.
His duties included constructing helicopter landing zones, which required lifting heavy packs and equipment.
Mr Sheridan, now 62, began experiencing intermittent back pain during his time in the defence force, and said he was first hurt the month after he joined while doing squats.
The Veterans Review Board accepted back and ankle injuries were linked to his service.
Mr Sheridan has argued the lumbar spondylosis in his back, and hip and knee problems stopped him exercising and in turn caused him to become overweight, leading to type two diabetes.
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal of Australia recently denied his appeal against the decision.
The tribunal found food choices, rather than any injuries sustained during the North East man’s time in the army, were likely to have contributed to his problems, along with a lack of motivation to exercise.
He told The Border Mail he was disappointed with the decision and believes more former soldiers would be in the same position.
“The Department of Veterans’ Affairs aren't that easy to deal with,” he said.
“It's a long, drawn-out process. I think they should recognise that injuries occur in training and in army service. Later in life you tend to suffer and have to live with those injuries.
“You need the support to live a reasonable life.”
Documents note Mr Sheridan was about six feet tall and weighed about 70 or 75 kilograms when he enlisted in the army.
At one point, he was smoking up to 200 cigarettes a day and said he was “well prone to overeating”.
He gradually gained weight from 1974 to 1994.
By 1995, he weighed 128 kilograms with a body mass index considered obese and almost morbidly obese.
His weight had reduced to 107 kilograms by September 2003 but grew to 110 kilograms in June 2014.
Senior tribunal member Damien Cremean said Mr Sheridan’s back problems were diagnosed after he was diagnosed with diabetes.
“Mr Sheridan made his food choices and out of the food choices he made, he may have to blame himself for his obesity, short of any genetic explanation,” he said.
“It rendered him unfit for many activities, but this had nothing at all to do with his condition of lumbar spondylosis.”
