Newman Kayleigh, van der Weyden Megan Sax, Martin Joel
Sports Medicine Assessment Research & Testing (SMART) Laboratory, George Mason University, VA 20110, United States.
Center for the Advancement of Well-Being, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, United States.
Mil Med. 2025 Jun 19. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usaf307.
The U.S. Army developed the Holistic Health and Fitness system and Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) to support the overall readiness of soldiers from a framework that assesses multiple domains of health. Although modifiable healthy lifestyle behaviors (MHLB)-diet, sleep, and physical activity (PA)-are presumed to influence ACFT performance, research on this relationship, particularly among Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) cadets, is limited. This study examines the relationship between MHLB and ACFT performance to understand their impact on fitness outcomes.
This cross-sectional study included 83 Army ROTC cadets from a single university. Participants completed 3 electronic surveys assessing dietary behaviors, sleep quality, and PA, and performed the ACFT. Anthropometric data, including height, mass, and body composition, were also collected. Nonparametric statistical tests were conducted to assess relationships between MHLB and ACFT performance.
Descriptive statistics revealed that 55.4% of cadets had poor sleep quality, and 9.6% exhibited poor dietary habits. All but 2 cadets passed the ACFT. No significant correlations were found between MHLB and ACFT scores, either across the entire sample or within gender and military science class subgroups.
The absence of significant correlations between MHLB and ACFT performance challenges common assumptions and highlights the complexity of optimizing readiness in military populations. Although most cadets reported adequate PA levels and acceptable diet quality, the prevalence of poor sleep quality highlights an area for targeted intervention. These results demonstrate the value of holistic health assessments to support the overall well-being and readiness of ROTC populations.
美国陆军开发了整体健康与健身系统以及陆军战斗体能测试（ACFT），以从评估多个健康领域的框架来支持士兵的整体战备状态。尽管可改变的健康生活方式行为（MHLB）——饮食、睡眠和身体活动（PA）——被认为会影响ACFT成绩，但关于这种关系的研究，尤其是在后备军官训练团（ROTC）学员中的研究有限。本研究探讨了MHLB与ACFT成绩之间的关系，以了解它们对体能结果的影响。
这项横断面研究纳入了来自一所大学的83名陆军ROTC学员。参与者完成了3项电子调查问卷，评估饮食行为、睡眠质量和PA，并进行了ACFT测试。还收集了人体测量数据，包括身高、体重和身体成分。进行了非参数统计测试，以评估MHLB与ACFT成绩之间的关系。
描述性统计显示，55.4%的学员睡眠质量差，9.6%的学员饮食习惯不良。除2名学员外，所有学员都通过了ACFT。在整个样本中，以及在性别和军事科学课程亚组中，均未发现MHLB与ACFT分数之间存在显著相关性。
MHLB与ACFT成绩之间缺乏显著相关性，这对常见假设提出了挑战，并凸显了优化军事人员战备状态的复杂性。尽管大多数学员报告了足够的PA水平和可接受的饮食质量，但睡眠质量差的患病率凸显了一个有针对性干预的领域。这些结果证明了整体健康评估对于支持ROTC人员的整体福祉和战备状态的价值。
