Swiss Army Physical Fitness Training

Physical Activity Clinical Trial

— SAFT  

Official title:

Swiss Army Physical Fitness Training - An Intervention Study Investigating the Influence of the Swiss Armed Forces' New Sport Concept on Physical and Psychological Parameters of the Recruits

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Enrolling by invitation

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT02570295
• Other study ID #: SAFT_82/15
• Status: Enrolling by invitation
• Phase: N/A
• First received: October 5, 2015
• Last updated: October 6, 2015
• Start date: July 2015
• Est. completion date: June 2016

Study information

• Verified date: October 2015
• Source: Swiss Federal Institute of Sport Magglingen
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: Switzerland: Ethikkommission
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the new sport concept of the Swiss Armed Forces influences the physical and psychological fitness of the recruits.

Description:

The physical and psychological demands in the Swiss Army basic military service are high. Injury incidences in Swiss Army training schools are higher than in armed forces of other countries.There is evidence that progressive loading of physical demands at the beginning of basic military service and specific physical training can reduce injury incidences and attrition rates. A new sport concept by the Swiss Army takes into account these results of previous studies. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the influences of this new sport concept on the physical and psychological fitness as well as on the injury and attrition rates of the recruits.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Enrolling by invitation
• Enrollment: 800
• Est. completion date: June 2016
• Est. primary completion date: April 2016
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Both
• Age group: 18 Years to 25 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Recruits of the Swiss Army rescue training schools 75 2/2015 and 3/2015

Exclusion Criteria:

Study Design

Allocation: Non-Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Open Label, Primary Purpose: Prevention

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Mood (Psychological Function)
• Motivation
• Motor Activity
• Physical Activity
• Wounds and Injuries

Intervention

Other:
• Swiss Army Physical Fitness Training
2 x 90 minutes strength training and sport games and 2 x 30 minutes endurance training per week during 18 weeks of basic military training

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Switzerland	Casern of the Swiss Army rescue training school 75	Wangen an der Aare	Bern

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Swiss Federal Institute of Sport Magglingen	Swiss Armed Forces

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Switzerland, 

References & Publications (5)

Hofstetter MC, Mäder U, Wyss T. Effects of a 7-week outdoor circuit training program on Swiss Army recruits. J Strength Cond Res. 2012 Dec;26(12):3418-25. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e318245bebe. — View Citation

Roos L, Boesch M, Sefidan S, Frey F, Mäder U, Annen H, Wyss T. Adapted marching distances and physical training decrease recruits' injuries and attrition. Mil Med. 2015 Mar;180(3):329-36. doi: 10.7205/MILMED-D-14-00184. — View Citation

Wyss T, Mäder U. Energy expenditure estimation during daily military routine with body-fixed sensors. Mil Med. 2011 May;176(5):494-9. — View Citation

Wyss T, Mäder U. Recognition of military-specific physical activities with body-fixed sensors. Mil Med. 2010 Nov;175(11):858-64. — View Citation

Wyss T, Roos L, Hofstetter MC, Frey F, Mäder U. Impact of training patterns on injury incidences in 12 Swiss Army basic military training schools. Mil Med. 2014 Jan;179(1):49-55. doi: 10.7205/MILMED-D-13-00289. — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Other	Questionnaire about Sport lessons	Content, duration and subjective intensity of each sport session answered by the respective instructor	During the whole basic military training (18 weeks)	No
Other	Daily energy expenditure	Measured using two accelerometers and one heart rate sensor	Weeks 2 - 9 of the basic military training	No
Other	Number of steps per day	Measured using two accelerometers and one heart rate sensor	Weeks 2 - 9 of the basic military training	No
Other	Daily distance covered on foot	Measured using two accelerometers and one heart rate sensor	Weeks 2 - 9 of the basic military training	No
Primary	Injuries which are registered in the patient's medical record	All injuries which are registered in the patient's medical record are collected and classified. A classification system which takes into account anatomical site, circumstances of the accident, and severity of the injury is used.	During the basic military training (18 weeks)	No
Secondary	Physical Fitness measured with the Swiss physical fitness test battery (SPFTB)	Physical Fitness is measured with the Swiss physical fitness test battery (SPFTB)	Weeks 2, 10 and 16 of the basic military training	No
Secondary	Psychological Questionnaires	Questionaires concerning motivation, commitment, well-being, leadership	Weeks 2, 10 and 16 of the basic military training	No
Secondary	Military performance according to military marks	Military marks are given by superior Army personnel	During the basic military training (18 weeks)	No
Secondary	Questionnaire about Health and Physical Activities		Week 1 of the basic military training and 3 months after	No
Secondary	Attrition rate	Withdrawals from the military service are reported by the training school's secretariat	During the whole basic military training (18 weeks)	No