Which US States Pose the Greatest Threats to Military Readiness and Public Health? Public Health Policy Implications for a Cross-sectional Investigation of Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Body Mass Index, and Injuries Among US Army Recruits

Bornstein, Daniel B.; Grieve, George L.; Clennin, Morgan N.; McLain, Alexander C.; Whitsel, Laurie; Beets, Michael W.; Hauret, Keith G.; Jones, Bruce H.; Sarzynski, Mark A.

doi:10.1097/phh.0000000000000778

Cited by 21 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…This leads to higher training costs and delayed integration of IET soldiers into operational units for military service. Proper preparation is crucial as the pool of physically ready soldiers has been diminished by repeated deployments [ 34 ], musculoskeletal injury, and a small pool of available recruits resulting from poor health and fitness of the United States general population [ 35 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Whey Protein Supplementation on Physical Performance and Body Composition in Army Initial Entry Training Soldiers

et al. 2018

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We investigated the effects of whey protein (WP) supplementation on body composition and physical performance in soldiers participating in Army Initial Entry Training (IET). Sixty-nine, male United States Army soldiers volunteered for supplementation with either twice daily whey protein (WP, 77 g/day protein, ~580 kcal/day; n = 34, age = 19 ± 1 year, height = 173 ± 6 cm, weight = 73.4 ± 12.7 kg) or energy-matched carbohydrate (CHO) drinks (CHO, 127 g/day carbohydrate, ~580 kcal/day; n = 35, age = 19 ± 1 year, height = 173 ± 5 cm, weight = 72.3 ± 10.9 kg) for eight weeks during IET. Physical performance was evaluated using the Army Physical Fitness Test during weeks two and eight. Body composition was assessed using 7-site skinfold assessment during weeks one and nine. Post-testing push-up performance averaged 7 repetitions higher in the WP compared to the CHO group (F = 10.1, p < 0.001) when controlling for baseline. There was a significant decrease in fat mass at post-training (F = 4.63, p = 0.04), but no significant change in run performance (F = 3.50, p = 0.065) or fat-free mass (F = 0.70, p = 0.41). Effect sizes for fat-free mass gains were large for both the WP (Cohen’s d = 0.44) and CHO (Cohen’s d = 0.42) groups. WP had a large effect on fat mass (FM) loss (Cohen’s d = −0.67), while CHO had a medium effect (Cohen’s d = −0.40). Twice daily supplementation with WP improved push-up performance and potentiated reductions in fat mass during IET training in comparison to CHO supplementation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Whey Protein Supplementation on Physical Performance and Body Composition in Army Initial Entry Training Soldiers

et al. 2018

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“…Taken together, lower levels of fitness, higher rates of injuries due to elevated BMI, and failure to meet body fat standards leading to disability among recruits undermine force readiness. 16 , 17 , 18 Although service members must qualify as fit prior to deployment, there are factors during deployment, such as access to food, stressors, and unhealthy sleep patterns, that may influence one's ability to maintain a healthy weight and which may be exacerbated to a greater extent during longer deployments. 19 In addition, there is very little research examining the effects of multiple deployments on healthy weight maintenance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association of deployment with maintenance of healthy weight among active duty service members in the Millennium Cohort Study

Carey

Jacobson

Roenfeldt

et al. 2021

Obesity Science & Practice

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Objective: Understanding body size in relation to deployment readiness can inform Department of Defense fitness policies. This study examined longitudinal associations between deployment and changes in body mass index (BMI) among active duty service members.Methods: Service branch-specific changes in BMI post-deployment were examined using logistic regression models among active duty Millennium Cohort Study participants without obesity at baseline (n = 22,995). BMI was categorized using selfreported height and weight as healthy weight (18.5-24.9 kg/m 2 ), overweight (25.0-29.9 kg/m 2 ), and obese (≥30 kg/m 2 ). Number of deployments between baseline and follow-up and initial deployment lengths (in months, using service branch-specific deployment times) were examined.Results: Among the pooled population and specifically Army and Marine Corps service members without obesity, those with longer deployments were significantly less likely to maintain a non-obese BMI than those deploying for shorter lengths.Each additional deployment increased the likelihood of maintaining a non-obese BMI post-deployment for personnel in the Army, Marine Corps, and within the pooled population.Conclusions: Multiple deployments may support healthy weight maintenance; longer deployments may adversely impact weight maintenance. Future research should determine modifiable behaviors related to weight gain post-deployment to inform fitness policies designed to optimize service member readiness and deployability.

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“…A challenge for many LEAs is that they have a high number of positions that need to be filled. Finding enough suitable candidates is a problem faced by law enforcement organizations [ 14 ]. There are a number of societal issues that are affecting the number of suitable applicants an agency will receive.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

We Need You: Influence of Hiring Demand and Modified Applicant Testing on the Physical Fitness of Law Enforcement Recruits

Lockie

Dawes

Moreno

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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A challenge for law enforcement agencies is the many positions that need filling. Agencies may modify their applicant test battery (ATB; multilevelled testing including fitness, background checks, psychological evaluations) to increase the hiring pool of potential recruits by augmenting the utility of testing. This study determined fitness differences of law enforcement recruits hired under two different ATB protocols. Retrospective analysis was conducted on seven academy classes (442 males, 84 females) hired under an older ATB, and one class (45 males, 13 females) hired under a newer ATB. Recruits completed the following before academy: 60 s push-ups and sit-ups (muscular endurance); vertical jump (lower-body power); medicine ball throw (upper-body power); 75 yard pursuit run (75PR; change-of-direction speed); and 20 m multistage fitness test (20MSFT; aerobic fitness). Independent sample t-tests (p ≤ 0.001) and effect sizes (d) evaluated between-group fitness differences for recruits hired under the different ATB protocols (combined sexes, males, and females). There were no significant differences between the ATB groups. However, newer ATB female recruits completed 13% fewer 20MSFT shuttles than the older ATB group, which, although not significant (p = 0.007), did have a moderate effect (d = 0.62). Females hired under the newer ATB had lower aerobic fitness, which could impact physical training performance and graduation.

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Which US States Pose the Greatest Threats to Military Readiness and Public Health? Public Health Policy Implications for a Cross-sectional Investigation of Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Body Mass Index, and Injuries Among US Army Recruits

Cited by 21 publications

References 23 publications

Effect of Whey Protein Supplementation on Physical Performance and Body Composition in Army Initial Entry Training Soldiers

Effect of Whey Protein Supplementation on Physical Performance and Body Composition in Army Initial Entry Training Soldiers

Association of deployment with maintenance of healthy weight among active duty service members in the Millennium Cohort Study

We Need You: Influence of Hiring Demand and Modified Applicant Testing on the Physical Fitness of Law Enforcement Recruits

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