Work

Improved Diet Quality in Elite and Entry-Level Military Women Compared With Civilian-Matched Counterparts

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Background: Dietary intake is a modifiable factor linked to short-term and long-term health. The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) is an objective measure to assess diet quality and population-level comparisons, like military to civilian. Objectives: This study aimed to characterize diet quality of early-career and mid-career female soldiers compared with that of age-matches and sex-matched civilians and to link indicators of cardiometabolic disease risk to dietary outcomes and health status. Methods: = 150, 21 ± 4 y) from Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, with stratified (time, sex, and age) civilian data (NHANES) were compared. The Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon rank sum and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to assess group differences. Weights, strata, and primary sampling units were used to account for NHANES sampling design, with FEW and BCT subjects assigned a weight, strata, and primary sampling unit of 1. Nonplausible reporters identified as women reporting an energy intake of <300 or > 4500 kcal/d were excluded from the analysis. Results: Mean HEI-2020 scores were greater in both FEW and BCT than those in NHANES groups (FEW: 67 ± 11 compared with 48 ± 15; pre-BCT: 60 ± 12 and post-BCT: 68 ± 11 compared with 50 ± 13). Diet quality for military groups were greater in 11 of the 13 HEI components than those for NHANES groups. Biomarkers associated with cardiometabolic disease risk (lipid profile, glucose, and insulin) improved in FEW and BCT compared with that in NHANES groups. Conclusions: FEW consumes a healthier diet than BCT and civilian women. Outcomes suggest the military nutrition environment promotes female warfighter health and warrants further research for understanding the impact of diet associated with long-term health outcomes.

Source: Current Developments in Nutrition

DOI: 10.1016/j.cdnut.2024.104517

Authors: Tyler E Oliver, Soothesuk Kusumpa, Laura J Lutz, James P McClung, Holly L McClung

Institutions: U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, United States Army, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education

Language: English

Topic: Nutritional Studies and Diet

Subfield: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Zero hunger

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $5,000