Department of Military Pedagogy and Leadership, National Defense University, Helsinki, FINLAND.
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2018 Feb;50(2):292-298. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000001436.
The purpose of the present study was to investigate changes in physical fitness and anthropometry of young men entering the military service in Finland during the years 1975-2015.
The study included the fitness test results of 627,142 healthy young male conscripts (age 19.1 ± 0.4 yr). Data included results of aerobic capacity, muscle fitness tests, and anthropometric characteristics.
The results show that the increase in mean body mass of young men has slowed down during the last 10 yr. However, the total increase in body mass was 6.8 kg (8.8%, P ≤ 0.001) between 1993 and 2015. The mean distance achieved in the 12-min running test decreased by 337 m (12.2%, P ≤ 0.001) between the peak in 1980 and 2015. The relative number of conscripts who ran less than 2200 m increased from 3.6% to 25.9% (P ≤ 0.001) between 1980 and 2015, and the proportion who ran more than 3000 m decreased from 25.1% to 6.5% (P ≤ 0.001). The relative number of conscripts who achieved an excellent or good muscle fitness index decreased from 66.8% to 40.1% (P ≤ 0.001) between 1992 and 2000, and remained unchanged between 2000 and 2010. However, the proportion who achieved a poor muscle fitness index increased from 8.1% to 31.4% (P ≤ 0.001) between 1992 and 2010.
The present study shows that the increase in mean body mass of young male conscripts has slowed down during the last 10 yr. However, their aerobic capacity has still decreased during recent decades. In addition, the proportion of conscripts with poor muscle fitness has increased. From the national defense and health perspective, more initiatives are needed to encourage young men to increase their level of daily physical activity to be fit and ready for operations.
本研究旨在探讨芬兰 1975 年至 2015 年间入伍的年轻男性入伍时体能和人体测量学的变化。
该研究纳入了 627142 名健康年轻男性应征者（19.1±0.4 岁）的体能测试结果。数据包括有氧能力、肌肉力量测试和人体测量特征。
结果表明，过去 10 年来，年轻男性的平均体重增加速度已经放缓。然而，1993 年至 2015 年间，体重总增加了 6.8 公斤（8.8%，P≤0.001）。1980 年和 2015 年之间，12 分钟跑步测试的平均距离减少了 337 米（12.2%，P≤0.001）。1980 年至 2015 年，跑不到 2200 米的应征者人数相对比例从 3.6%增加到 25.9%（P≤0.001），而跑 3000 米以上的比例从 25.1%减少到 6.5%（P≤0.001）。1992 年至 2000 年期间，获得优秀或良好肌肉健康指数的应征者相对比例从 66.8%降至 40.1%（P≤0.001），而在 2000 年至 2010 年期间则保持不变。然而，1992 年至 2010 年期间，肌肉健康指数较差的应征者比例从 8.1%增加到 31.4%（P≤0.001）。
本研究表明，过去 10 年来，年轻男性应征者的平均体重增加速度已经放缓。然而，他们的有氧能力在最近几十年仍有所下降。此外，肌肉健康状况不佳的应征者比例有所增加。从国防和健康的角度来看，需要采取更多措施鼓励年轻人增加日常身体活动水平，以保持健康，随时准备执行任务。
