At some US Army bases pizzas, sodas and doughnuts are off the menu as new recruits are weaned off fast food. The military believes that this healthy food revolution will make them better soldiers.

The healthy food revolution is on display at a mess hall at Fort Benning, Georgia, where the young troops, with their assault rifles slung over their shoulders, file past a breakfast buffet in silence.

To help them choose a balanced meal, green, yellow and red labels indicate the nutritional value of each dish.

Grapes, apples and melon slices get a healthy green label. Old staples such as scrambled eggs are still served, but with a yellow label, Bacon also qualifies as yellow, though it's turkey instead of pork.

Cheese receives a red color code, while pastries and cakes are nowhere to be found.

The soldiers, most of them under the age of 21, seem to be embracing the healthier dishes. After an hour of exercise outdoors before dawn, their plates are piled high with fruit, yogurt and granola.

Before they joined the military, the soldiers had fast food about four to seven times a week, said Lieutenant General Mark Hertling of the Army's Training and Doctrine Command.

"That's a lot of fat," Hertling said.

After seeing the physical condition of incoming recruits steadily decline over the past decade, the army launched the effort to introduce a healthier diet to new soldiers.