Sport and physical activity is an important and compulsory part for the people who connect their lives with the military system. The military speciality and the quality of execution of the service duties and tasks depends on the fitness level and physical preparedness. We have provided the assessment of physical activity for the staff personnel that is involved in the administration staff work. Otherwise each military officer should be ready to fulfil orders and tasks. Effective and active military service is impossible without an appropriate level of physical preparedness. We have provided the questionnaire for staff officers in 2009-2010 (n=52). The questionnaire embraced all kinds of physical activities during the daytime. We have received information about sports and physical activity during the service time and free time, the received data about the participation in morning physical activities, the use of the stairs (to go upstairs and downstairs), the execution of physical exercises during the working hours and sports activities after working hours and in the weekend, taking part in the sport events, physical work at home. We have the data of the self-assessment concerning overweight, smoking and alcohol using, the regular regime (sleeping hours and the diet). We have included the questions concerning health problems (the cardiovascular disease, the gastrointestinal disease, the respiratory disease, trauma and ect) and the duration of medical incapability (days per year). We have calculated the points of the physical activity questionnaire. After that we divided the respondents into four groups (lower, moderate, good and high) according to the results of the level of physical activity. The assessments of the physical activity level allow correlating the life style, and the support and keep physical preparedness and develop physical abilities of the staff personnel.

Nutrition habits of cadets are basement for keeping health and physical preparedness stability, developing a military career. General obligation of each military person is to take care of his welfare and health, to follow to the hygiene standard and keep military readiness and physical fitness. Welfare includes also healthy, balanced and adapted to the physical load nutrition. According the legislation military person get daily financial support-compensation for daily food. There is individual responsibility to choose food that is suitable and available, that favour physical fitness and increase health status. The aim of our study is to indicate the nutrition habits of cadets of National defence academy of Latvia. We have provided a questionnaire about food consumption of cadet's groups in period from 2017 till 2018. The study data were processed by SPSS 22. Results reflect that cadets` general information level and understanding about importance of food consumption need to be improved. It is useful to organise the lectures course about the main principles of healthy nutrition adapted to physical load. The cadets need additional information about balanced diet. The recent research suggests that a significant percentage of cadets do not have adequate nutrition habits to physical activity level. We fixed problems (deficit of water consumption) before the sports activities. Balanced food consumption allows improving physical status and working capacities of cadets and correlating the body mass index (BMI) value to Standard level. The correctly organized nutrition plan helps to support physical fitness and activity of military personnel.

Physical activities are important for everyone in order to keep the physical preparedness and support an adequate level of life quality. Physical activities of young people -students are basis for keeping health capacity, working ability, developing business and carrier, and providing economic and social stability. Sport activities are very popular nowadays. Anyone can choose various sport activities that are suitable and available, that favour physical fitness and increase health status. Physical activities usually are planned during leisure time and weekends. We have provided a questionnaire about physical activities of student groups in period from 2012 till 2016. Studies have indicated the number of smokers, assessed results of questionnaire about physical activity, the body mass, body heights, and anthropometric indices. Results reflected that general physical activity level (in scores) in examined groups -part time studentswere low for female and moderate for male. Recent research suggests that a significant percentage of students didn't get adequate physical activity. We fixed increased numbers of individuals of both genders who have no any sports activity in the last years. The mean value of body mass index (BMI) for male was above standard. The amount of physical activity of working people has dropped and the resulting poor physical condition is becoming a threat to their working ability, health and well-being. Contemporary life style is connected to full time job that reduces the time dedicated to physical activities. The consequences of physical inactivity are associated to multiple health related problems. Musculoskeletal pathology is one of the most common work-related health problem, as well as an important cause of morbidity for population. It is an inflammatory and degenerative ailment that affects all individuals in working age. The aim of the study is to determine and evaluate the daily physical activities and their general level for the part-time students, give characteristic of anthropometric parameters for part time students.Keywords: physical activity of students, body mass index value, health and fitness of students, adult education.

The Body composition is related to higher physical performance and a lower risk of health problems, it connects to external and internal factors. Military activitiesf are characterized with a high physical load and a psychological load, physical fitness and the body composition have an adverse effect on military performance. The primary purpose of the body composition and physical fitness is related to the selection of individuals the best suited to the demands of military service [2,10]. The proper body mass supports good health capacity [11,13]. The maintenance of body composition and appropriate physical fitness standards by the military personnel is affected by the intrinsic factors such as the individual's genetic factors, development history, social background, and extrinsic factors, environmental changes and institutional, systemic changes. The effects of the excess body mass are widespread, raise the variety of concerns relevant to the health and performance of the military personnel [1,3,4,5]. The diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and heart disease increased with the obesity [6,7,9,12]. The individuals with overweight have more medical complication than the individuals with the standard body mass. The higher body mass index was associated with higher morbidity and mortality [8]. We have classified individuals according to the age into subgroups and provided the evaluation of the body composition on the basis of the main anthropometric characteristics as well the analysis of the standard physical fitness tests results. The analysis of the average value of the body mass and the Body Mass Index have shown large individual changes inside the subgroups and between the subgroups. The assessment of the results of physical fitness tests is provided differentially according to the individual corresponding age subgroup. The analysis of the respondent data http://dx.doi.org/10.12697/poa.2016.25.1.03Papers on Anthropology XXV/1, 2016, pp. 27-36 28 | L. Pļaviņa, S. Umbraško reveals the overweight and obesity problem that became actual with the increasing the age of individuals. Physical fitness tests results have shown that the excellent physical fitness evaluation is received by about 33-44% of the military personnel that reflects a high unit of operational readiness.

Anthropometric data reflect the quality of life, high working capacities and potentiality of individual creative abilities. The physical working and physical fitness capacities depend on physical health, physical development level, physical activity and healthy lifestyle. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the principal anthropometric characteristics, levels of physical activity and sports tests results in a group of cadets. We assessed the principal anthropometric characteristics (height, body mass) as well the anthropometric indices (body mass index) of cadets of the National Defence Academy in their 1 st year of study and in the same group of cadets after three years, in their 4 th year of study. We provided a questionnaire for the cadets in the study group concerning their physical activity and analysed the data of the standardized Nordic Questionnaire about Musculoskeletal Symptoms. The average values of the main anthropometric characteristics of the respondents in the 1 st year of study were the following: height -180.4±1.3 cm and body mass -79.5±1.7 kg. After three years, we fixed the changes of body mass in the examined group: in 53% of cadets, the body mass had increased by more than two kg, but in 47% of respondents, body mass had remained at the same level. The average data in the study group of the 4 th year students were: height 181.2±1.3 cm and body mass -81.3±2.5 kg. Physical fitness is an indispensable part in the daily routine of each cadet. Physical fitness characterizes an individual's cardiorespiratory status, muscular strength and endurance as well as velocity and coordination. The fitness level of a person determines the results of the annual sports tests (sit-ups, push-ups and cross-country race). The results were stable for 68% of respondents. We also included the questions related to musculoskeletal symptoms (pain). Musculoskeletal pain symptoms have an impact on each individual's physical fitness level. The physical activity levels in the respondents' https://doi.org/10.12697/poa.2017.26.2.09Papers on Anthropology XXVI/2, 2017, pp. 88-94 Analysis of cadets' anthropometric characteristics | 89 group were high. They were closely associated with physical fitness, 76% of the respondents showed high results in annual physical fitness tests.

According to a statistical review (2018) in Latvia, there are more than one thousand women (n = 1266) with the diagnosis of breast cancer. Assessments of anthropometrical parameters were made according to the World Health Organisation recommendations for morbidity risk analysis. The aim of the study was to determine the differences and changes of anthropometric parameters and indices in a control group and in a clinical group (initial oncological diagnosis without treatment intervention). We examined women in their postmenopausal period. The control group included apparently healthy women (n = 181) and the clinical group included women (n = 44) with initial oncological diagnosis (breast cancer 1st and 2nd stage). In order to assess body anthropometric characteristics we used the body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, waist/height ratio and skin fold thickness measurement. The study results were assessed using statistical analyses in the IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 22.0 software: Shapiro–Wilk and Mann–Whitney tests with a two-tailed p-value < 0.05). The analysis of statistical data showed that, despite the low number of patients in the clinical group, we found a significantly lower waist-to-hip ratio, skinfold thickness above m. biceps brachii, skinfold thickness above m. triceps brachii, and subscapular and suprailiac skin fold thickness in this group.

Musculoskeletal disorders are an important cause of morbidity in the military service. They represent a prevalent source of patient visits, lost work time, hospitalization and disability in the military personnel. The three most important areas that had pain were lumbar spine, shoulders, lower extremities. Most often musculoskeletal pain did not affect the daily activities. Nevertheless, it may be important to provide preventive measures to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders linked to a specific job and treatment at early stage. Chronically musculoskeletal disorders result in the disabilities needing long-term rehabilitation and functional impairment leading to premature discharge from the military service because of musculoskeletal problems. The nature of these problems suggests that it is a combination of ergonomic and individual/ organizational matters. Intrinsic and extrinsic factors associated with the military environment and psychosocial factors may play a role in the development, exacerbation and maintenance of work disability in the military population. We have provided the evaluation of anthropometric characteristics for the military personnel going for retirement with a diagnosis of musculoskeletal pathology. Anthropometric characteristics of the military personnel (n=50) that goes to the reserve were collected during the period of two years (2011/2012). We have evaluated anthropometric characteristics: the height, the body mass anthropometric indices. Body fat ranges for standard adults were calculated according to NIH/WHO BMI Guidelines. The body mass index for the military personnel (61.3% of soldiers and 73.7% of officers) with musculoskeletal pathology surpasses the standard over 30%. It could be the one of intrinsic risk factors -the provocateur for developing spine pathology. Keywords: anthropometric characteristics of the military personnel, musculoskeletal disorders of the military personnel

Optimization of training and minimization of injuries are topical for the physical performance of military personnel. Physical and psycho-emotional load, fatigue, sleep deprivation, and dietary limits can lead to the development of oxidative stress (OS) and injuries in specific military training. This study investigated markers of OS and muscle damage in military cadets after a 10-day-long intensive training course and a one-month-long recovery. The sample included 42 cadets (2 females and 40 males) aged from 22 till 34. Myoglobin, catalase activity (CAT), superoxide dismutase activity (SOD), and total antioxidants capacity (TAC) in plasma were measured. OS was assessed by the glutathione index. The results revealed an increasing level of myoglobin, increasing glutathione index, and no changes in CAT, SOD, and TAC during the intensive training course. After the one-month-long recovery, myoglobin was back to normal, the activity of CAT and TAC was higher than before and after the training course, while SOD did not change after the recovery. The glutathione index decreased after the one-month-long recovery, but it was not reached the initial level before the intensive training. In sum, the observed grade of OS positively affected the capacity of the antioxidative system with some sign of a need for a longer rest.