Self-reported nutritional intake is associated with physical performance, but not musculoskeletal injury incidence in a cohort of United States Army Reserve Component Soldiers.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the relationship between nutritional intake of a cohort of United States (US) Army Reserve Component (RC) Soldiers and physical performance as measured by the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), total injuries, and cumulative micro-traumatic "overuse" musculoskeletal injury (MSKI).

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study.

METHODS

A voluntary survey was administered to 21 US Army RC units from July to December 2021. Surveys collected demographic information, nutritional intake, and injuries in the previous 12 months. Nutritional intake was assessed by frequency of fruit, vegetable, whole grain, dairy, and protein intake. ACFT data were obtained from a centralized database. Multivariable linear and logistic regression models were used to estimate associations between nutritional intake, physical performance, and injury outcomes.

RESULTS

A total of 1322 Soldiers (82.8% male) completed the survey. Controlling for sex, age, body mass index (BMI), and cumulative MSKI prior to the ACFT, soldiers reporting greater vegetable, whole grain, dairy, and protein intake (2-3 and 4+ servings per day) had better performance on hand release push up, sprint-drag-carry, leg tuck, and 2-mile run events compared to those reporting rarely or never (p < .05). After adjustment for sex, age, and BMI, estimated associations between nutritional intake and self-reported injuries were not statistically significant (p > .05).

CONCLUSION

In this investigation, greater vegetable, whole grain, dairy, and protein intake was associated with better performance on anerobic and aerobic ACFT events but not related to odds of injury. These findings underscore the importance of healthy nutritional intake for physical readiness within the Reserve Component.