Serum Lipid Levels in Selected Air Force Officers during the First Four Years after Graduation from the USAF Academy.
Abstract
This study was conducted to obtain information from which to assess the impact of attendance at the USAF Academy upon factors recognized to indicate risk of cardiovascular disease. Since an earlier study of West Point cadets found that serum levels of cholesterol and lipoproteins rose to peak levels 2 years after graduation from the United States Military Academy, this study also followed the subjects in the study through their years at the USAF Academy and for almost 4 years thereafter. During the years at the USAF Academy, only transient elevations in serum cholesterol and uric acid levels were found, but these were apparently related to short-term stress. During the 3 1/2 to 4 years after graduation, serum cholesterol levels increased slightly, but the average remained below the level for U.S. males of comparable age. There were numerically small, but statistically significant (P < .05), increases in both weight and percent body fat. Dietary intakes of protein, fat, and carbohydrate appeared typical for normal active young men; the average total caloric intake was approximately 2300 cal/day. Among the men who responded to requests for information after graduation, there is no evidence of increases in cardiovascular risk factors for the group as a whole; in fact, these men on the average have lower levels of risk factors than men of comparable age in the general population of the United States. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1981
- Accession Number
- ADA112885
Entities
People
- Dale A. Clark
- Karen L. Fusto
- William G. Jackson Jr.
Organizations
- United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine