Impact of compulsory military service on public health: significant benefits for obese and unfit young adult men
Background Obesity and poor physical fitness are essential concerns for public health and disease prevention. Alarmingly, the prevalence of both risk factors is increasing in younger populations. We investigated what is the impact of compulsory military service on waist circumference and cardiorespi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Annals of Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/07853890.2025.2520399 |
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| author | Tuomas Tenkanen Kai Pihlainen Kari Tokola Jani Vaara Heikki Kyröläinen Harri Sievänen Tommi Vasankari |
| author_facet | Tuomas Tenkanen Kai Pihlainen Kari Tokola Jani Vaara Heikki Kyröläinen Harri Sievänen Tommi Vasankari |
| author_sort | Tuomas Tenkanen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background Obesity and poor physical fitness are essential concerns for public health and disease prevention. Alarmingly, the prevalence of both risk factors is increasing in younger populations. We investigated what is the impact of compulsory military service on waist circumference and cardiorespiratory fitness in large sample of Finnish young men.Methods Our study was based on a database from the Finnish Defence Forces, which includes information on 249,279 healthy male conscripts (age 19.1 ± 0.4 years.). We measured the waist circumference, and cardiorespiratory fitness (12-min running test) of conscripts in the beginning and at the end of the service and evaluated how these values differed in individuals with different baseline data.Results The mean changes in waist circumference and cardiorespiratory fitness were −2.1 cm [95% confidence interval (CI): −2.2 to −1.9] and +62 m (95% CI: 57–68). Conscripts with the largest waist circumference at baseline decreased their value the most and conscripts with the poorest cardiorespiratory fitness at baseline increased their fitness the most.Conclusion Compulsory conscription benefits public health by reducing waist circumference and improving cardiorespiratory fitness of initially obese and unfit young men. Changes, if maintained, are likely to translate into lower morbidity and mortality of chronic illnesses. Interventions containing similar features as military services including increased physical activity, regular sleep and healthy eating habits could be considered in decision making to counteract the growing problem of obesity and poor physical fitness. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ee749ff3093e47e6ab0e01fc20553a8e |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0785-3890 1365-2060 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Annals of Medicine |
| spelling | doaj-art-ee749ff3093e47e6ab0e01fc20553a8e2025-08-20T02:21:52ZengTaylor & Francis GroupAnnals of Medicine0785-38901365-20602025-12-0157110.1080/07853890.2025.2520399Impact of compulsory military service on public health: significant benefits for obese and unfit young adult menTuomas Tenkanen0Kai Pihlainen1Kari Tokola2Jani Vaara3Heikki Kyröläinen4Harri Sievänen5Tommi Vasankari6Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, FinlandTraining Division, Defence Command, Finnish Defence Forces, FinlandThe UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research, Tampere, FinlandDepartment of Military Pedagogy and Leadership, National Defence University, Helsinki, FinlandDepartment of Military Pedagogy and Leadership, National Defence University, Helsinki, FinlandThe UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research, Tampere, FinlandFaculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, FinlandBackground Obesity and poor physical fitness are essential concerns for public health and disease prevention. Alarmingly, the prevalence of both risk factors is increasing in younger populations. We investigated what is the impact of compulsory military service on waist circumference and cardiorespiratory fitness in large sample of Finnish young men.Methods Our study was based on a database from the Finnish Defence Forces, which includes information on 249,279 healthy male conscripts (age 19.1 ± 0.4 years.). We measured the waist circumference, and cardiorespiratory fitness (12-min running test) of conscripts in the beginning and at the end of the service and evaluated how these values differed in individuals with different baseline data.Results The mean changes in waist circumference and cardiorespiratory fitness were −2.1 cm [95% confidence interval (CI): −2.2 to −1.9] and +62 m (95% CI: 57–68). Conscripts with the largest waist circumference at baseline decreased their value the most and conscripts with the poorest cardiorespiratory fitness at baseline increased their fitness the most.Conclusion Compulsory conscription benefits public health by reducing waist circumference and improving cardiorespiratory fitness of initially obese and unfit young men. Changes, if maintained, are likely to translate into lower morbidity and mortality of chronic illnesses. Interventions containing similar features as military services including increased physical activity, regular sleep and healthy eating habits could be considered in decision making to counteract the growing problem of obesity and poor physical fitness.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/07853890.2025.2520399Cardiorespiratory fitness(MeSH): obesityoverweightwaist circumferenceprimary preventionyoung adults |
| spellingShingle | Tuomas Tenkanen Kai Pihlainen Kari Tokola Jani Vaara Heikki Kyröläinen Harri Sievänen Tommi Vasankari Impact of compulsory military service on public health: significant benefits for obese and unfit young adult men Annals of Medicine Cardiorespiratory fitness (MeSH): obesity overweight waist circumference primary prevention young adults |
| title | Impact of compulsory military service on public health: significant benefits for obese and unfit young adult men |
| title_full | Impact of compulsory military service on public health: significant benefits for obese and unfit young adult men |
| title_fullStr | Impact of compulsory military service on public health: significant benefits for obese and unfit young adult men |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of compulsory military service on public health: significant benefits for obese and unfit young adult men |
| title_short | Impact of compulsory military service on public health: significant benefits for obese and unfit young adult men |
| title_sort | impact of compulsory military service on public health significant benefits for obese and unfit young adult men |
| topic | Cardiorespiratory fitness (MeSH): obesity overweight waist circumference primary prevention young adults |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/07853890.2025.2520399 |
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