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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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Annals of Medicine |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/07853890.2025.2520399 |
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| Summary: | 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. |
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| ISSN: | 0785-3890 1365-2060 |