Army recruits who lost excess weight to enter military training experienced fewer musculoskeletal injuries (MSKIs), particularly in the lower extremities, during basic combat training than those who did not lose weight to join the service.
"The findings highlight that losing excess weight before entering military training may reduce MSKI risk for incoming recruits, enforcing the benefits of healthy weight loss programs," the authors wrote.
The study, led by Vy T. Nguyen, MS, DSc, Military Performance Division, US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, Massachusetts, was published online in Obesity.
The study did not assess whether the association between weight loss and the rate of MSKIs persisted over long-term military service. How the two most frequently reported weight loss methods -- increased exercise and dietary changes -- may have influenced the observed association remains unclear. Medical records may not have captured all MSKIs if trainees did not seek medical care due to concerns about graduating on time or being placed on limited duty.
The study was supported by the US Army Medical Research and Development Command's Military Operational Medicine Program. Two authors received support from the funder.