Effect of Individual Variability in Body Size on Empirical Model Predictions of Exercise Endurance Times
Abstract
Prevention of heat illness is an important part of Army training and doctrine. Heat illness has historically been a substantial problem in military operations and training and continues to affect modern forces, increasing morbidity, mortality, and use of health care resources. If adequate hydration and emergency medical management are not available, many cases of exertional heat illness (EHI) are potentially fatal. Therefore the US military is attempting to minimize the risks to Warfighters through predictive modeling and mission planning. Environmental conditions, clothing worn, and activity level can contribute to excess heat storage making it difficult to maintain thermal balance with the environment. This imbalance can eventually lead to the development of heat illness ranging from relatively minor heat exhaustion to life threatening heat stroke. In addition to weather, clothing, and exertion, increased body mass index (BMI) has recently been shown to increase the likelihood of developing exertional heat illness. USARIEM has developed several models to predict Warfighter performance and requirements. One of these models was retrospectively tested on a database of Marine Corp Recruits to determine how sensitive predictions of exercise endurance time are to individual anthropometric differences.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA474471
Entities
People
- L. A. Blanchard
- L. G. Berglund
- M. A. Kolka
- R. F. Wallace
- W. R. Santee
Organizations
- United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine