2 results
Assessment of nutritional knowledge of soldiers of the Territorial Defense Force of the Polish Armed Forces
- Pawel Kler, Bartosz Szczesniak, Anna Anyzewska, Jerzy Bertrand
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- Journal:
- Proceedings of the Nutrition Society / Volume 79 / Issue OCE2 / 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 10 June 2020, E311
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Introduction
Among all types of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland, the name of the Territorial Defense Force reflects its character and purpose to the greatest extent. The goals and tasks set for it depend on the specific defense needs of the state. In the light of current nutritional knowledge, rational nutrition is one of the basic conditions for the proper functioning of the human body and maintaining its good health. Particularly important is the state of nutrition in the case of soldiers performing combat tasks. The aim of the study was to assess the level of nutritional knowledge of soldiers in the context of the implementation of training tasks.
Material and methodsThe nutritional knowledge of soldiers was verified on the basis of an open survey, with the use of a proprietary questionnaire containing 20 closed-ended questions. The study covered 106 soldiers of the Territorial Defense Force, undergoing military training. The questions included in the questionnaire concerned the principles of rational nutrition and the sources of some of the nutrients in a daily diet. In addition, the Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated for each respondent based on the height and body weight values. The results of the survey were prepared using Excel and Statistica software.
Results and discussionThe applied BMI classification showed this may be evidenced by over 40% of the respondents being overweight, while 17% demonstrated first degree obesity, and 1% — second degree obesity. The results of the survey indicated the areas in which the nutritional knowledge of the examined group of soldiers was insufficient. One of the reasons for this is the source of information on rational nutrition. Content provided by friends or obtained from the Internet may mislead soldiers, and incorrect application of nutrition guidelines may cause them to eat unbalanced food rations, which is likely to reduce a soldier's physical capacity, concentration, responsiveness, and the possibility of intense physical activity during the performance of official tasks. Taking into account the BMI results and the low level of nutritional knowledge, it can be concluded that the nutrition safety of the Territorial Defense Force soldiers is at risk, which may stimulate the emergence and development of a number of diet-related civilization diseases. It is purposeful to conduct systematic training of Territorial Defense Force soldiers in the field of rational nutrition. This will help to improve their nutritional knowledge and maintain good health.
Energy expenditure of flight crew of military transport aviation depending on function during typical training activities
- Bartosz Bertrandt, Roman Lakomy, Pawel Kler, Jerzy Bertrandt
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- Journal:
- Proceedings of the Nutrition Society / Volume 79 / Issue OCE2 / 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 10 June 2020, E638
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Introduction
The knowledge of energy expenditure during typical activities is the basic information to estimate nutritional requirements. This is especially important with irregular lifestyle, such as service in transport aviation. Aircraft personnel fly in every part of a day. Flights often take place with changes in climate and time zones. Time of flights fluctuated from a several dozen to a dozen hours.
AimThe aim of the work was to assess and compare the energy expenditure of military aircraft crews – “CASA C-295”, “ C-130 Hercules” and helicopter “W-3 Sokol” during typical air training activities.
Material & MethodThe study was conducted in a group of 31 members of flight crews. The energy expenditure was based on the examination of heart rate frequency with the Polar RS800 heart rate monitor.
ResultsThe study was conducted among crew members of various types of transports aircrafts. The average value of energy expenditure of the CASA pilots (n = 14) was 3,071 ± 0,84 kcal/min (training flight during the day, n = 10) and 5,64 ± 2,45 kcal/min (training flight during the night and in noctovision goggles, n = 4). In a group of flight technicians (n = 7) in aircraft Herules C-130 the average energy expenditure was 3,55 ± 1,83 kcal/min (passeneger reception and service). In a group of loadmasters (n = 6), in aircraft CASA and Hercules C-130 the average energy expenditure was 6,63 ± 1,55 kcal/min (baggage service, dropping paratroopers). The average energy expenditure in a group of paramedics (n = 4), which are members of helicopter W-3 Sokol crew was 8,51 ± 4,29 kcal/min (going down the rope, lifting wounded person from watercrafts).
ConclusionThe presented data show the variation in energy expenditure between groups, as well as within groups. The energy expenditure was varied depending on the function on board and on the conditions in which the tasks were performer. Obtained values of energy expenditures during flights allow to classify the work performed in the categories of work from light to heavy (according to the Christensen's classification). Nutrition in the study group should be adapted to the nature of the work performed.
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