Dietary Factors Related to Physical Fitness among Navy Shipboard Men

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between habitual dietary practices and performance on the physical readiness test required of active duty Navy personnel. Participants were 1,013 men (mean age = 26.2 years) stationed aboard nine Navy ships. The men completed a self-report survey of lifestyle and dietary habits and were evaluated on four tests of physical fitness: 1.5-mile Run, Sit-ups, Sit-reach, and Percent Body Fat. A standardized Overall Fitness score was also computed for each person. Results indicated that the participants tended to skip breakfast, ingest moderate amounts of caffeine, and favor a high-fat, low-fiber diet. Fitness scores were associated with a number of dietary variables, including caffeine intake, between-meal snacking, and overeating (all negatively related to fitness, p< . 01), and having a general “nutrition orientation” (positively related to fitness, p<. 001). The relationships were confounded by the influence of age, exercise, and smoking, but even after controlling for these, diet was a significant predictor of fitness ( p<. 001).