The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Polish Armed Forces soldiers and to analyze risk factors impacting body mass. In total, 1096 male, Caucasian soldiers (36.31 ± 8.03 years) participated in this study. Anthropometric data were obtained, and questionnaires evaluated sociodemographic, environmental, behavioral and biological factors known to be associated with obesity. Only 33% of the total number of participants had normal body weight, and 17.3% were considered obese (according to WHO criteria). The results showed that being 40 years or older, sleeping six hours or less per day, more frequent reaching for food in stressful situations, having a mother with excessive body weight, not exercising or exercising at most two days per week, and spending two hours a day or more in front of the TV increase the risk of obesity. Taken together, the results show that factors such as family history of obesity, dietary habits, physical activity, length of sleep and ability to cope with stress could be used to identify soldiers at higher risk of developing obesity in order to provide them with personalized prevention programs.

Obesity is a worldwide epidemic with more than 600 million affected individuals. Human studies have demonstrated some alterations in brains of otherwise healthy obese individuals and elevated risk of neurodegenerative disease of old age; these studies have also pointed to slightly diminished memory and executive functions among healthy obese individuals. Similar findings were obtained in animal models of obesity induced by high fat diet. On the other hand, low carbohydrate high fat diets are currently promoted for losing weight (e.g., Atkin’s style diets). However, the long-term effects of such diets are not known. Additionally, high fat diets leading to (mild) ketonemia were shown to improve brain function in elderly humans and in some animal models. To evaluate the hypothesis that long-term use of a high fat diet was associated with decreases in spatial memory, smaller hippocampi and hippocampi metabolite concentrations in Wistar rats. Twenty five male Wistar rats were put on high fat diet (HFD; 60% calories from fat, 30% from carbohydrates) on their 55^th day of life, while 25 control male rats (CONs) remained on chow. Adequate levels of essential nutrients were provided. Both groups underwent memory tests in 8-arm radial maze at 3^rd, 6^th, 9^th, and 12^th month. ¹H magnetic resonance spectroscopy was employed to measure concentrations of tNAA (marker of neuronal integrity) at one month and one year, whereas MRI was used to evaluate hippocampal volumes. Obese rats (OBRs) consumed similar amount of calories as CONs, but less proteins. However, their protein intake was within recommended amounts. Throughout the experiment OBRs had statistically higher concentrations of blood ketone bodies than CONs, but still within normal values. At post-mortem assessment, OBRs had 38% larger fat deposits than CONs (p<0.05), as evaluated by volume of epididymis fat, an acknowledged marker of fat deposits in rats. Contrary to our expectations, OBRs had better scores of memory behavioral tasks than CONs throughout the experiment. At one year, their hippocampi were by 2.6% larger than in CONs (p = 0.05), whereas concentration of tNAA was 9.8% higher (p = 0.014). Long-term HFD in our study resulted in better memory, larger hippocampal volumes, as well as higher hippocampal metabolite concentrations, possibly due to increased levels of blood ketone bodies. The results should be interpreted with caution, as results from animal models do not necessarily directly translate in human condition.

(1) Background: Military personnel worldwide exhibit high rates of obesity. Obesity, and especially visceral obesity, contribute to various health issues, including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). While BMI is commonly used to diagnose obesity, it has limitations and does not consider factors like fat distribution or muscle mass. This study aims to assess the relationship between BMI, percent body fat, waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), and cardiovascular risk factors in Polish military flying personnel. Methods: This study involved 200 men from the Polish Air Force aged 38.8 ± 8.5 years. Anthropometric tests, body composition tests, and tests of biochemical markers of CVD were conducted. (2) Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity varied based on the evaluation criterion; they were present in 63.5% of soldiers by BMI and in 52.5% by percent body fat; abdominal obesity was present in almost half (47%) of the surveyed soldiers according to WC and in 62.5% according to WHtR. All markers of obesity correlated positively with various biochemical markers of CVD, and 8.5% of subjects met the criteria for metabolic syndrome. (3) Conclusions: The prevalence of obesity in Polish military flying personnel, regardless of the evaluation criterion, is associated with significant metabolic complications in the form of lipid disorders and insulin resistance.

Background: The aim of the study was to evaluate overweight, obesity and the level of physical activity in the study group of 100 cadets of the Air Force Military Academy in Dęblin (WSOSP). Material and Methods: Evaluation of overweight and obesity was based on body mass index (BMI) and body...