Physical activity of daily life of Bundeswehr soldiers: a cross-sectional study

Introduction Activity of daily life is an important key to maintaining and improving the health status. This is especially important for people in physically demanding jobs, such as firefighters, military and police. Methods In order to record the actual state of activity of daily life among soldiers, a step count measurement with a pedometer was carried out on 196 soldiers of the German Armed Forces over 7 days and supplemented by a questionnaire on lifestyle factors. Results The subjects exceeded the recommended 7000-8000 steps per day, with the rank and file moving the least and the commissioned officers the most. It was also striking that the soldiers in the study moved an average of 2600 steps less per day on weekends than on weekdays. Conclusions Based on these findings, targeted physical activity measures can be established for the identified target groups within the framework of corporate health management in order to ensure the physical fitness of soldiers on routine duty and on deployment.