Weight Loss Strategies Used by Army Reserve Officer Training Corps Cadets: Implication for Student Health and Wellness Services

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (9) ◽  
pp. 821-827
Author(s):  
Julia A. Wilson ◽  
Delores C. James
Keyword(s):  
Weight Loss ◽  
Student Health ◽  
Health And Wellness ◽  
Officer Training ◽  
Army Reserve ◽  
Weight Loss Strategies ◽  
Reserve Officer Training Corps ◽  
Training Corps

The Relationship Between Functional Motor Competence and Performance on the Army Combat Fitness Test in Army Reserve Officer Training Corps Cadets

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan Terlizzi ◽  
T Cade Abrams ◽  
Ryan S Sacko ◽  
Amy F Hand ◽  
Kyle Silvey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Officer Training ◽  
Motor Competence ◽  
Army Reserve ◽  
Chi Squared ◽  
Reserve Officer Training Corps ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Composite Scores ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Training Corps

ABSTRACT Introduction The development of functional motor competence (FMC; i.e., neuromuscular coordination and control required to meet a wide range of movement goals) is critical to long-term development of health- and performance-related physical capacities (e.g., muscular strength and power, muscular endurance, and aerobic endurance). Secular decline in FMC among U.S. children and adolescents presents current and future challenges for recruiting prospective military personnel to successfully perform the physical demands of military duty. The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between FMC and physical military readiness (PMR) in a group of Cadets enrolled in an Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program. Materials and Methods Ninety Army Reserve Officer Training Corps Cadets from a southeastern university and a military college in the southeast (females = 22; Mage = 19.5 ± 2.5) volunteered for participation in the study. Cadets performed a battery of eight FMC assessments consisting of locomotor, object projection, and functional coordination tasks. To assess PMR, Cadets performed the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT). Values from all FMC assessments were standardized based on the sample and summed to create a composite FMC score. ACFT scores were assigned to Cadets based upon ACFT scoring standards. We used Pearson correlations to assess the relationships between individual FMC assessment raw scores, FMC composite scores, and total ACFT points. We also evaluated the potential impact of FMC on ACFT in the entire sample and within each gender subgroup using hierarchical linear regression. Finally, we implemented a 3 × 2 chi-squared analysis to evaluate the predictive utility of FMC level on pass/fail results on the ACFT by categorizing Cadets’ composite FMC score into high (≥75th percentile) moderate (≥25th percentile and <75th percentile), and low (<25th percentile) based on the percentile ranks within the sample. ACFT pass/fail results were determined using ACFT standards, requiring a minimum of 60 points on each the ACFT subtests. Results FMC composite scores correlated strongly with total ACFT performance (r = 0.762) with individual FMC tests demonstrating weak-to-strong relationships ACFT performance (r = 0.200–0.769). FMC uniquely accounted for 15% (95% CI: −0.07 to 0.36) of the variance in ACFT scores in females (R2 = 0.516, F2,19 = 10.11, P < 0.001) and 26% (95% CI: 0.09–0.43) in males (R2 = 0.385, F2,65 = 20.37, P < 0.001), respectively, above and beyond the impact of age. The 3 × 2 chi-squared analysis demonstrated 74% of those with low, 28% with moderate, and 17% with high FMC failed the ACFT (χ2 [1, N = 90] = 27.717, V = 0.555, P < 0.001). Conclusion FMC composite scores are strongly correlated with ACFT scores, and low levels of FMC were a strong predictor of ACFT failure. These data support the hypothesis that the development of sufficient FMC in childhood and adolescence may be a critical antecedent for PMR. Efforts to improve FMC in children and adolescents may increase PMR of future military recruits.

305 Subjective sleep predicts Cadet performance during U.S. Army Reserve Officer Training Corps Advanced Camp

SLEEP ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. A121-A122
Author(s):  
Kajsa Carlsson ◽  
Carolyn Mickelson ◽  
Jake Choynowski ◽  
Janna Mantua ◽  
Jaime Devine ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sleep Onset ◽  
The United States ◽  
Officer Training ◽  
Predictive Utility ◽  
Army Reserve ◽  
Age And Gender ◽  
Subjective Sleep ◽  
Reserve Officer Training Corps ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Training Corps

Abstract Introduction U.S. Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Advanced Camp (AC) is a 29-day training that assesses military skills and leadership potential in college students training to become Commissioned Officers (i.e. Cadets). Military trainings are widely known to disrupt normative sleep. Additionally, operational sleep disruption is linked to performance decrements. This study examined the ability for objective and subjective sleep during ROTC AC to predict Cadet performance. Methods One hundred and fifty-nine ROTC Cadets (age 22.06±2.49 years; 76.1% male) wore an actiwatch device continuously for 29 days during AC. Paper surveys administered at the end of AC captured subjective sleep metrics during the training. ROTC instructors evaluated Cadet performance and provided scores of overall class rank and summary performance. Multiple and ordinal linear regressions assessed the predicative utility of subjective (sleep duration [SD]; Global score [Global] from the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) and objective (Total Sleep Time [TST]; Sleep Efficiency [SE]; Sleep Latency Onset [SOL]; Wake After Sleep Onset [WASO] from actigraphy) sleep on performance. Results The interaction of SD and Global, when controlling for age and gender, significantly predicted increased Cadet rank, F(4,153) = 3.09, p = 0.018. Models testing the prediction of SD and Global on summary performance score were non-significant. Further, regressing of both Cadet rank and summary performance individually on objective sleep metrics, when controlling for age and gender, resulted in non-significant findings. Conclusion Subjective and objective sleep showed no significant individual predictive utility on performance. However, the combined subjective model significantly predicted that Cadets who slept worse (lower SD; higher Global) during AC received a lower rank at the end of the training. These findings suggest there may be a unique combined predictive utility of subjective sleep on performance when compared to the predictive power of individual variables. Therefore, subjective sleep may be better for predicting operational performance than objective sleep. Future analyses will refine these models and examine how performance on individual AC events may be influenced by sleep. Support for this study came from the Military Operational Medicine Research Program (MOMRP) of the United States Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC). Support (if any):

Weight and Body-Composition Change during the College Freshman Year in Male General-Population Students and Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Cadets

2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 412-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron P. Crombie ◽  
Pei-Yang Liu ◽  
Michael J. Ormsbee ◽  
Jasminka Z. Ilich
Keyword(s):  
Body Composition ◽  
General Population ◽  
Body Fat ◽  
Male Students ◽  
Officer Training ◽  
Army Reserve ◽  
Freshman Year ◽  
Body Composition Change ◽  
Reserve Officer Training Corps ◽  
Training Corps

Purpose:To examine relationships between changes in body weight, body composition, and fitness level in male students of the general population and those in the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program during the freshman year of college.Methods:Thirty-seven (18.4 ± 0.7 yr) healthy, nonsmoking, first-semesterresident male students were divided into 3 groups: low active (LA), high active (HA), and ROTC. Baseline (beginning of freshman year) and 6-month follow-up measurements included anthropometry, body composition (by DXA), 3-day food records, and physical activity (PA) assessment.Results:Weight and body-mass index did not change significantly within or among groups. HA participants compared with LA and ROTC had a significant decrease in body fat (–1.6% ± 2.5% vs. 1.9% ± 1.2% and 0.8% ± 2.2%, respectively). They also had a significant increase in lean mass compared with LA and ROTC (1.8 ± 1.1 kg vs. –0.2 ± 2.0 kg and 0.2 ± 1.7 kg, respectively). All p values were <.05. ROTC and LA participants were similar in all measures of body composition and PA and had significantly lower PA levels than the HA group. No significant relationships were observed between dietary variables and body-composition changes.Conclusions:These results suggest that higher PA was the most powerful determinant in achieving favorable body-composition outcomes. In addition, current physical training conducted by ROTC at Florida State University (which seems to be a practice nationwide) might not be sufficient to offset gains in body fat.

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