Abstract
A professional soldier should be characterized not only by high physical fitness but also by high intellectual and cognitive skills. Therefore, it is important to focus on the future commanding cadre-cadets that are educated in military academies. The aim of the study was to look for correlations between the level of physical fitness and attention and academic achievements (AA) in different subjects among cadets studying at military academies. The research group consisted of students of a military academy in Poland, i.e., 228 cadets, including 31 women and 197 men. Correlations between explained and explanatory variables were assessed using Pearson’s correlation. Correlations between AA and somatic parameters and motor components were analysed using optimal regression, using the best subset method. A statistical difference was found between men and women in terms of the level of somatic and motor development; men also performed significantly better in practical military subjects. In the female group, dominant hand strength is a significant determinant of AA in civilian and theoretical military subjects. The findings suggest the need for specialized training aimed at bridging the major differences in physical fitness between men and women by placing greater emphasis on muscle strength development.
Highlights
High physical fitness has always been perceived as an indispensable attribute of a soldier
Females obtained higher results in a test checking the level of attention and some executive functions, with statistically significantly better results in Color Trail Test (CTT)-2 (61.97 ± 11.94, p = 0.0230)
The main results of our study are the results of correlation and regression analysis in the female group, indicating that the level of physical fitness and partially the level of attention, body mass and body mass index (BMI) influenced the academic achievements of female cadets
Summary
High physical fitness has always been perceived as an indispensable attribute of a soldier. It is still the basis for assessing the combat value of the modern army. Despite the progressive civilizational development, digitalization and robotization, military service will always be associated with high physical fitness. There is no doubt that physical activity has many health benefits. It is an important protective factor against many health disorders and chronic noninfectious diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, cardiac arrest) and age-related diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease [2]. The risk of diseases such as osteoporosis and ischemic heart disease in adulthood can be reduced by regular physical activity from an early age [3,4,5]
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