Research from recent years indicates a problem of excessive body weight among soldiers, who, due to the kind of work carried out, should possess good health and fitness levels. The aim of the study was to determine the association between diet and physical activity and the nutritional status of soldiers of the Polish Air Cavalry Units. One hundred and twenty male soldiers (aged 28 ± 5 years) completed a questionnaire (food frequency questionnaire, long-form International Physical Activity Questionnaire). Body composition was determined by bioelectrical impedance analysis, and bone calcification of the forearm was assessed by the DXA (Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry) densitometric method. This study confirmed the association between both the diet and physical activity and body mass index (BMI), fat mass index (FMI), and bone mineral density (BMD) expressed as T-score. Significant negative correlations were found between BMI and the frequency of consumption of cereal products, meat products and fish, and nonalcoholic beverages, between FMI and cereal products, and between BMD T-score and meat products and fish, fat, nuts, and grains, sweets and snacks, and nonalcoholic beverages. Physical activity expressed as metabolic equivalent (MET-minutes/week) negatively correlated with FMI (but not BMI) and positively correlated with the BMD T-score. This study confirmed numerous irregularities in eating behavior and in nutritional status indices; therefore, there is a need for nutritional education and further monitoring of both dietary behaviors and nutritional status of soldiers.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) have unique functions in energy metabolism regulation but are also involved in regulation of the inflammatory process and obesity. The aim of this study was to analyse potential associations between polymorphisms of PPARA (rs1800206), PPARD (rs1053049; rs2267668) and PPARG (rs1801282) and overweight parameters. One hundred and sixty-six males, unrelated Caucasian military professionals, were recruited in the genetic case-control study conducted in the period 2016–2019. All the participants were aged 21–41 and had similar levels of physical activity. Body mass, height and body composition were measured. The participants were divided into two groups depending on their BMI (body mass index) and FMI (fat mass index). The control group consisted of people with BMI between 20.0 and 25.0 or FMI values ≤ 6, while the overweight group consisted of people with BMI of ≥ 25.0 or FMI values > 6. Genomic DNA was isolated from extracted buccal cells. All samples were genotyped using real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR). It was found that two polymorphisms rs2267668 and rs1053049 of the PPARD gene were significantly associated with BMI: SNP rs2267668 for the dominant (OR = 2.04, 95%CI 1.01–4.11, p-value = 0.04) model (A/G-G/G vs A/A). The likelihood of being overweight was over 2 times smaller for allele A. A relationship between the polymorphism of PPARG (rs1801282) and BMI was found for the overdominant (OR = 2.03, 95%CI 1.03–4.00, p-value = 0.04) model (C/G vs C/C-G/G). Significant associations were found in different models for PPARD , PPARG and PPARA genes with BMI. In SNP rs2267668 for the codominant genetic model (G/G vs A/A) (p-value = 0.04) and in SNP rs1053049 for the codominant (C/C vs T/T) (p-value = 0.01) and the recessive genetic model (C/C vs T/T–C/T) (p-value = 0.004) all polymorphisms were associated with BMI. In conclusion, it was found that three of the four polymorphisms (rs1053049, rs2267668, rs1801282) selected are associated with the risk of being overweight. Having said that, one has to bear in mind that DNA variants do not fully explain the reasons for being overweight. Therefore more research is needed to make a thorough assessment using the latest genomic methods in sequencing and genotyping, combined with epigenomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics.

Obesity is a complex multifactorial abnormality that has a well-confirmed genetic basis. However, the problem still lies in identifying the polymorphisms linked to body mass and composition. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze associations between FTO (rs9939609), FABP2 (rs1799883), and LEP (rs2167270), LEPR (rs1137101), and MC4R (rs17782313) polymorphisms and obesity-related parameters. Unrelated Caucasian males (n = 165) were recruited. All participants had similar physical activity levels. The participants were divided into two groups depending on their body mass index (BMI) and fat mass index (FMI). All samples were genotyped using real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR). When tested individually, only one statistically significant result was found. The FTO A/T polymorphism was significantly associated with FMI (p = 0.01). The chance of having increased FMI was >2-fold higher for the FTO A allele carriers (p < 0.01). Gene–gene interaction analyses showed the additional influence of all investigated genes on BMI and FMI. In summary, it was demonstrated that harboring the FTO A allele might be a risk factor for elevated fat mass. Additionally, this study confirmed that all five polymorphisms are involved in the development of common obesity in the studied population and the genetic risk of obesity is linked to the accumulation of numerous variants.

Background. Due to specific requirements of service, Border Guard officers should be characterized by good health. Whereas there is lack of studies assessing nutritional status as well as dietary behaviours among Polish Border Guard officers. Objective. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of dietary behaviours of the Polish Border Guard officers on the Fat Mass Index. Material and methods. The study was carried out with participation of 250 Border Guard officers (187 men and 63 women), aged 37±6; years of service: 12±6. Nutritional status was determined with the electrical bioimpedance method using the TANITA MC-780 analyzer. According to the calculated Fat Mass Index value each person was qualified to one of the following groups: fat deficit, normal fat or excess fat. The Border Guard officers were asked to fill in the original questionnaire containing questions about nutritional behaviours in line with the recommendations of the Swiss Food Pyramid for Athletes in the basic version. Results. The excessive amount of fat in every third officer of the Border Guard and numerous irregularities in eating behaviours were found. According to the food pyramid the smallest scale of rational dietary choices (especially regularity of meals, fruit and vegetable consumption) was characteristic of officers with excess fat. In addition, officers from the excess fat group obtained, on average, a lower sum of points for compliance of nutritional behaviours with the recommendations of the Swiss Food Pyramid than those from other groups (49% vs. 59% and 56%, p=0.002). Conclusions. There is a need for nutritional education and further monitoring of both the nutritional status and dietary behaviours of Border Guard officers.

Introduction Injuries are the most significant health problem of military services. Military medical surveillance data are useful for determining the magnitude and causes of the injury problem, identifying possible prevention targets and monitoring trends among military personnel. Soldiers serving in the Polish Armed Forces took part in the research. The aim of the study was to identify the most common injuries of the musculoskeletal system and to analyze causes of injuries. An additional goal was to examine whether there is a relationship between selected values of body composition indexes, the result of the functional movement screen (FMS) test and occurrence of an injury. Material and Methods The Polish Armed Forces soldiers serving in the land forces, military police, air forces took part in the research. The first stage was to complete the questionnaire regarding injuries in the last 5 years, their reasons, and the circumstances of their occurrence. After completing the survey, subjects were measured and weighed on the body composition analyzer. The next step was to perform a FMS to evaluate the locomotor system. Results In the groups of examined Polish soldiers, the most frequent injuries concerned lower limbs and, above all, a knee joint. The leading causes of injuries were activities resulting from the service as well as playing football and volleyball. Conclusions Parameters from the body composition analyzer such as body mass index, muscle mass distribution on lower limbs as well as evaluation in the FMS test may be helpful for the initial assessment of predisposition to injury.