Effect of 7 Months of Physical Training and Military Routine on the Bone Mass of Young Adults

Abstract

Introduction Physical activity (PA) has a great influence on bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC), however longitudinal studies that seek to relate bone mass to physical activity are scarce and have a small sample size. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the effect of 7 months of military physical training (MPT), impact sports (IS), and swimming in the bone mass of young military adults. Materials and Methods A prospective study was conducted with 213 military school students (male and aged 19.2 ± 1.2 years) divided into three groups: MPT (n = 144), IS (n = 56), and Swimming (n = 13). Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to determine body composition (percentage of fat, fat mass, and fat-free mass) and bone mass (BMD, BMD Z-Score, total BMC, arm BMC, leg BMC, and trunk BMC), at the beginning of the military service and after 7 months of training. Results It was observed a significant increase in BMD, BMD Z-Score, total BMC and BMC of all segments analyzed for all groups (p < 0.01). There was a significantly greater variation in BMD of the IS group in relation to the MPT group (p < 0.01), and in the arm BMC of the MPT group in relation to the IS group (p < 0.05). Conclusion After 7 months of training, there were significant increases in BMC and BMD of all the groups evaluated. The bone response was associated with the muscular group used in the physical exercise and the IS group showed greater gain in BMD.

Effects of Two 8-Week Physical Training Models (Traditional and Specific) on Improved Military Physical Performance

“…Some studies have indicated significant improvements in military personnel after undergoing MPT sessions in upper limbs endurance, corroborating that military training with an approximate duration of eight weeks promotes important adaptations in physical fitness (Campos et al, 2017;De Avila et al, 2013;El Hage & Reis Filho, 2013;Heinrich et al, 2012;Ojanen et al, 2020). Similar to the present study, however with lower improvement, Heinrich et al (2012) showed that, after eight weeks of FMT intervention, the functional circuit training group presented greater efficacy compared to the traditional training of physical readiness of the Army.…”

Effect of 6 Months of Physical Training on the Physical Fitness of Young Brazilian Army Cadets

“…On the other hand, the workload of the training period does not seem to have been sufficient to significantly evolve this variable with the male sex. It was observed that the functional activities and the same physical training for both sexes cooperated more effectively for the evolution of the female lean mass, because the female effort to perform the task was probably greater due to the physiological differences between the men [20]. In agreement with the greater effort of women in relation to men when they carry out activities with the same external load, according to Nindl, Jones, Van Arsdale, Kelly and Kraemer [1], young adult males haveapproximately 50% more muscle mass of the upper limbs and 30% more mass lower limb muscle.…”

“…These results are supported by studies that report that muscle fitness training promotes increased strength, muscle mass, BMD, BMC and bone resistance to physical stress. Such benefits are important to prevent bone loss throughout life [18,[20][21][22].…”

The Effect of Elderly Gymnastics on Bone Density and Balance in the Elderly at Batara Hati Mulia Foundation

“…Physical activity has the most significant effect on bone status in men Kopiczko et al (2020). After 7 months of training, there was a significant increase in Bone Mineral Content (BMC) and Bone Mineral Density (BMD) (de Avila et al, 2019). Exercise promotes remodeling changes by increasing bone formation by bone osteoblasts through direct and indirect effects.…”