Generic military simulation of a complex workplace. A new tool for applied research in military settings.

In almost any military occupational specialty soldiers must monitor and react to stimuli, store and process information, make and communicate decisions, while using different in- and output modalities. When assessing influences on performance, e.g., by sleep-deprivation or heat-stress in intervention designs, researchers face a dilemma: They can either examine highly trained military experts in their jobs, thus risking limited generalizability of their results, or use standard measures of cognitive performance with little ecological relevance. To solve this dilemma, we developed a multidimensional job simulation by abstracting a wide range of military jobs into a generic military simulation of a complex workplace (GEMS COW). It had to meet the following requirements: 1) validly and reliably measure the relevant psychological constructs of the abstracted jobs, 2) require only minimal training, and 3) score high acceptance with military specialists. GEMS COW assesses attention, short-term memory (sm), and working memory (wm) in a lifelike setting. Three studies were conducted focusing on psychometric properties (Study 1, N = 74), overall task complexity in an intervention design (Study 2, N = 54), and acceptance (Study 3, N = 22) of GEMS COW. Psychometric properties proved satisfactory (construct validities: wm = .58, attention = .45, sm =.68; retest reliability: .61-.90). The simulation has a medium to high mental difficulty and soldiers accept it as a realistic military task. GEMS COW is easy to learn and reliably measures psychological constructs in a complex generic simulation. It can be used in intervention studies and may easily be implemented in other languages.

Concept for a Predeployment Assessment of Basic Military Fitness in the German Armed Forces.

Military fitness is defined as a hierarchical 4-level construct in the German armed forces: (a) "Fundamental/Baseline Fitness," (b) "Basic Military Fitness," (c) "Task Fitness," and (d) "Mission Fitness." "Fundamental/Baseline Fitness" is assessed with the "Basic Fitness Test." However, this test alone is not sufficient to assess readiness for the physical demands of deployments. The first part of the article describes the development of a tool mirroring the specific physiological requirements of military operations on a joint forces level. The "Basic Military Fitness Tool" (BMFT) combines 4 crucial military demands into one single timed test run performed with field uniform (5 kg), body armor (13.4 kg), and helmet (1.6 kg): (a) maneuver under fire: 130 m run with changes in direction, velocity, and body position, (b) casualty rescue: 40 m of dragging a 50 kg load, (c) load carrying: 100 m carrying of two 18 kg loads, and (d) load lifting: lifting a 24 kg load on to a 1.25 m high rack 5 times. The second part covers the first assessment of BMFT selectivity between high- and low-performing groups. Muscle mass and strength are important factors for working with loads. Thus, female soldiers are expected to need more time to complete BMFT because of their on average lower muscle mass. Eighteen female (age = 28.5 ± 6.6 years, lean body mass [LBM] = 45.0 ± 4.5 kg; mean ± SD) and 104 male soldiers (age = 30.0 ± 8.4, LBM = 64.3 ± 7.1) completed isometric strength testing (hand grip = 344.3 ± 51.4 N and 547.3 ± 79.1 N, elbow flexors = 118.9 ± 16.9 and 235.1 ± 42.0, knee extensors = 433.2 ± 87.4 and 631.4 ± 111.4) and BMFT (259.2 ± 44.0 and 150.0 ± 21.1 s). Except age, all variables differed significantly (p < 0.01) between groups.

Importance of sports during youth and exercise barriers in 20- to 29-year-old male nonathletes differently motivated for regular physical activities.

The number of sedentary young adults has dramatically increased in past decades, and sedentary lifestyles are adopted at an increasingly earlier age. Little is known about barriers or predictors to (re)initiate regular physical activity in this group. The purpose of the study is to (a) identify subgroups in nonathletes differing in their amenability to physical exercise, (b) to analyze them for differences in barriers and intention to exercise, and (c) compare importance of sports during youth in nonathletes to trained peers. Using a health and fitness questionnaire 589 nonathletes were queried in the cross-sectional survey and compared with 270 trained peers. Athletic abstainers (A), lower (L), and higher (H) motivated nonathletes were separated based on previous engagement in sports. Of the nonathletes, 54.7% reported only 1 barrier to exercise. Although this feature was most prominent in H (71.5%), the other groups showed significantly more barriers and a broader distribution. Similar characteristics but minor differences were observed for perceived importance of sports during youth. The most significant differences between athletes and nonathletes emerged enquiring the attitude and activity of the parents. The majority of nonathletes (72.8%) indicate their intention to exercise in the future. Their intention differed significantly in H (88.1%), L (76.1%), and A (59.1%). However, there are good reasons to doubt that most of those intending nonathletes will actually become physically active. Even in the analyzed narrow age range of men different motivated groups of nonathletes were found. Because of the differences in receptiveness and approachability health promotion policies may not only consider the often recommended tailored interventions but also carefully designed incentive programs.

Results of a workplace health campaign: what can be achieved?

BACKGROUND: Effective health promotion in the workplace is now essential because of the rising health-related costs for businesses, the increasing pressure arising from international competition, prolonged working lives, and the aging of the work force. The basic problem of prevention campaigns is that the target groups are too rarely reached and sustainable benefits too rarely achieved. In 2011, we carried out a broad-based health and fitness campaign to assess how many personnel could be motivated to participate in a model study under nearly ideal conditions. METHOD: 1010 personnel were given the opportunity to participate in various kinds of sports, undergo sports-medicine examinations, attend monthly expert lectures, and benefit from nutritional offerings and Intranet information during work hours. Pseudonymized questionnaires were used to classify the participants according to their exercise behavior as non-active, not very active, and very active. The participants' subjective responses (regarding, e.g., health, exercise, nutrition, and the factors that motivated them to participate in sports or discouraged them from doing so) were recorded, as were their objective data (measures of body size and strength). The duration of the study was one year. RESULTS: 490 of the 1010 personnel (48.5%, among whom 27.2% were nonactive, 44.1% not very active, and 28.7% very active) participated in the initial questionnaire and testing. By the end of the study, this figure had dropped to 17.8%; diminished participation affected all three groups to a comparable extent. A comparison of dropouts and non-dropouts revealed that older age was a stable predictor for drop-out (bivariate odds ratio [OR] 1.028, p = 0.006; multivariate OR 1.049, p = 0.009). The study participants reported beneficial effects on their health and health awareness, performance ability, psychological balance, stress perception, exercise and dietary behavior. CONCLUSION: Even under optimal conditions and with high use of staff resources, this model study (which cannot be universally implemented) did not lead to comprehensive and sustained personnel participation. This finding suggests that the currently available prevention instruments are insufficient for the effective and cost-efficient promotion of health and fitness in the workplace.

Physical fitness, weight, smoking, and exercise patterns in young adults.

INTRODUCTION: The health and physical fitness of adolescents and young adults are important not just to the individuals concerned, but also to society as a whole. Many studies from many different countries have dealt with the prevalence of overweight, the risk factors for it, and the morbidity it causes, but no more than a few have addressed the effects of unhealthy lifestyles on physical fitness. In this study, we show that young adults' physical performance depends on the number of risk factors they possess. We also compare the young adults' physical performance with that of adolescents aged 10 to 17. METHODS: We obtained cross-sectional data on the weight, smoking status, athletic activity, time to run 1 km, and ability to perform a chin-up on a horizontal bar of 8048 subjects aged 10 to 25. The young adults were divided into groups depending on the number of risk factors they possessed from the following list: overweight, smoking, and lack of exercise. RESULTS: 28.4% of the men and 35.4% of the women aged 18 to 25 had none of these risk factors and exhibited the best physical performance. The more risk factors were present, the worse physical performance became. The 24- and 25-year-olds performed at the same level as the 14- and 15-year-olds. DISCUSSION: Unhealthy lifestyles can impair physical fitness even before any chronic disease arises. Possession of even a single risk factor is associated with significantly worse performance. Unless comprehensive and effective interventions are introduced in school and at work, the further cementation and worsening of unhealthy lifestyles will be hard to stop.

Physical performance in middle age and old age: good news for our sedentary and aging society.

BACKGROUND: Physical performance often declines in middle age, but it is unclear to what extent this is due to biological aging. It can be difficult to determine whether such physical changes are truly age-related, as they might alternatively be explained as the negative consequences of a sedentary lifestyle. METHODS: We assessed the endurance of a physically active subgroup of the population by performing an age- and sex-stratified analysis of over 900,000 running times of marathon and half-marathon participants aged 20 to 79. We also analyzed the responses of 13,171 marathon and half-marathon runners to a questionnaire about sports, lifestyle, and health. RESULTS: No significant age-related decline in performance appears before age 55. Moreover, only a moderate decline is seen thereafter; in fact, 25% of the 65- to 69-year-old runners were faster than 50% of the 20- to 54-year-old runners. Our survey also revealed that more than 25% of the 50- to 69-year-old runners had started their marathon training only in the past 5 years. CONCLUSION: Performance losses in middle age are mainly due to a sedentary lifestyle, rather than biological aging. The large contingent of older "newcomers" among marathon runners demonstrates that, even at an advanced age, non-athletes can achieve high levels of performance through regular training.

Utilization and implementation of sports medical screening examinations: survey of more than 10 000 long-distance runners.

INTRODUCTION: Preventive medical checkups may help to lower the health risks incurred by participation in sporting activity. However, there are no epidemiologically relevant data on either utilization or implementation of such checkups. METHODS: An internet questionnaire (www.dshs-koeln.de/pace) and personal interviews of long-distance runners were used to obtain information on the acceptance and realization of medical checkups. RESULTS: Only 50% of 10 025 runners had undergone preventive medical screening. Beginners and returnees to long-distance running are significantly less likely to have themselves checked than performance-oriented athletes (42.0% vs. 59.9%; p < 0.01). Moreover, the survey revealed deficiencies in many sports medical tests; for example, over 15% of runners screened stated that their checkup had not included physical examination. Resting ECG was performed in only 67.4% of cases. DISCUSSION: The findings underline the need for qualified pre-emptive sports medical screening. If current public health campaigns are successful, higher numbers of overweight, untrained persons of all age groups will have to be examined and advised.