Search Results (46)

Objectives: Obesity has been suggested as a possible risk factor for the post-COVID-19 condition, but most studies rely only on body mass index (BMI), which does not reflect body fat distribution. Waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) is a simple anthropometric indicator of central obesity and a practical proxy for body fat distribution, yet it has not been studied in relation to the post-COVID-19 condition. This study aimed to examine whether obesity, measured by BMI and WHtR, is associated with the post-COVID-19 condition. Methods: A total of 500 male military conscripts (aged 18 years) underwent anthropometric measurements (height, weight, and waist circumference). Participants with prior COVID-19 were asked whether they had persistent or new symptoms after infection. BMI categories followed WHO definitions, and WHtR ≥ 0.50 was used to define central obesity. Results: Of the 376 participants who had previously experienced COVID-19, 82 (21%) experienced the post-COVID-19 condition. Obesity (BMI ≥ 30) was more common among those with the post-COVID-19 condition than those without (15% vs. 5%). BMI-defined obesity was associated with higher odds of the post-COVID-19 condition (OR 2.80, 95%CI 1.25–6.24). Central obesity was also more frequent in the post-COVID-19 condition (26% vs. 14%) and was linked to increased odds as well (OR 2.18, 95% CI 1.20–3.97). Conclusions: Both BMI-defined obesity and central obesity were associated with the post-COVID-19 condition. While WHtR does not directly quantify body fat distribution, it represents a simple and feasible anthropometric indicator. Therefore, it may be an additional useful tool for identifying individuals at higher risk of prolonged symptoms after COVID-19 infection. Full article

Background: The nation’s defense relies on a cadre of young individuals with strong physical and mental health. The study aimed to identify health behavior-related correlates of physical and mental health in future conscripts. Methods: This cross-sectional study comprised 676 male school students with an average age of 18.48 (1.15) years. The measures of weekly physical activity, nutrition (Kidmed questionnaire), psychological well-being (WHO-5 Well-Being Index), psychological distress (Kessler scale), cardiorespiratory fitness (20 m Shuttle Run test), weight, and height for calculation of body mass index were taken. Results: Among potential conscripts (17–19-year-old males), 22% have poor cardiorespiratory fitness. More than a quarter of young males have poor psychological well-being. Better cardiorespiratory fitness is related to more recommendations-adherent nutrition (Std β = 0.133 [0.03–0.14], p < 0.05). Engagement in sports is related to better cardiorespiratory fitness (Std β = 0.202 [0.10–0.30], p < 0.05). Higher psychological distress is associated with more time spent passively (Std β = 0.145 [0.12–0.34], p < 0.01); better psychological well-being is associated with more adherent nutrition (Std β = 0.172 [0.14–0.34], p < 0.0001), more hours accumulated in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (Std β = 0.150 [0.30–1.10], p < 0.01), and less time spent passively (Std β = −0.131 [−0.34–−0.11]). Conclusions: Potential conscripts’ physical fitness and mental health are related to better health behaviors. Behavior change practices and policies applied at school could benefit potential conscripts and youth in general in terms of their physical and mental health. Full article

The 2021 military coup in Myanmar triggered a severe humanitarian crisis, forcing many to flee through regular and irregular channels to neighboring countries like Thailand. This study explores the resulting migration patterns and precarious situation of Myanmar nationals seeking refuge in Thailand. Drawing on contemporary sources, it highlights how the crisis, worsened by military conscription laws, displaced many citizens. Refugees face constant fear of incarceration and forced repatriation while struggling with limited access to basic services in Thailand, which worsens mental health and reduces quality of life. The military’s revenue tactics, such as taxing overseas workers and remittances, have contributed to their hardships. In response, Thailand introduced a cabinet resolution to legalize work and residence for irregular migrants for four years. However, ongoing detentions and deportations risk forced military enlistment upon return, raising doubts about the resolution’s effectiveness, accessibility, and affordability. The study concludes with policy recommendations to address the humanitarian needs of Myanmar’s displaced population both at home and abroad. It also suggests ways to implement protective measures effectively, such as the Thai Cabinet resolution, to safeguard the dignity and rights of Myanmar’s people. Full article

In colonial Yucatán, Mexico, the owners of plantation-like estates known as haciendas conscripted saints and cows to expropriate land from Indigenous Maya farming communities. In this paper, I trace the role of hacienda saints by framing them as an introduced or adventive species, capable of forming both mutualistic and invasive interspecies relationships in their new habitat. I examine the introduction of saints to the region by Franciscans, early attempts by Maya people to build anticolonial coalitions with saints and cows, the participation of hacienda saints in extractivist ranching practices, and the ultimate reclaiming and possible naturalization of saints by Maya rebels. This paper extends conceptualizations of the plantation—as both a site of species extinction and a site of interspecies collaboration—to include Catholic saints, so as to interrogate the dynamic role of supernatural entities in deep and ongoing histories of extractivism. Full article

Considering a lack of respective data, the primary objective of this study was to assess whether seasonal variation in vitamin D status (D-status) affects the extent of improvement in physical performance (PP) in conscripts during basic military training (BMT). D-status, PP and several blood parameters were measured repeatedly in conscripts whose 10-week BMT started in July (cohort S-C; n = 96) or in October (cohort A-C; n = 107). D-status during BMT was higher in S-C compared to A-C (overall serum 25(OH)D 61.4 ± 16.1 and 48.5 ± 20.7 nmol/L, respectively; p < 0.0001). Significant (p < 0.05) improvements in both aerobic and muscular endurance occurred in both cohorts during BMT. Pooled data of the two cohorts revealed a highly reliable (p = 0.000) but weak (R² = 0.038–0.162) positive association between D-status and PP measures both at the beginning and end of BMT. However, further analysis showed that such a relationship occurred only in conscripts with insufficient or deficient D-status, but not in their vitamin D-sufficient companions. Significant (p < 0.05) increases in serum testosterone-to-cortisol ratio and decreases in ferritin levels occurred during BMT. In conclusion, a positive association exists between D-status and PP measures, but seasonal variation in D-status does not influence the extent of improvement in PP in conscripts during BMT. Full article

The search for knowledge has been central to the Islamic tradition from its inception in the Quran and the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (aḥādīth). The injunctions to obtain knowledge and contemplate the signs of God in all things undergird a culture of ultimate questions in which there was an underlying epistemic unity among all fields of knowledge, from the religious sciences to the intellectual sciences to the natural sciences. Having lost sight of the underlying metaphysic that provides this epistemic unity, many thinkers in the modern period read the classical Islamic texts independently of the cognitive cartography and hierarchy of which they are a part. This approach leads to further misunderstandings and thus to a sense of hermeneutical gloom and epistemic subordination characteristic of coloniality. Postcolonial theory provides effective tools for diagnosing the process by which this epistemic erosion produces ideologically and epistemically conscripted subjects. But as it, too, arises from within a secular frame, it is only by understanding the cognitive cartography of the sciences within Islam that epistemic confidence and sovereignty can be reinstated. Full article

We wanted to determine whether we could use an automated machine learning system called Azure for the selection process and placement of conscript training in such a way that AI can make decisions for the right conscript training program individually. To test this, we had four separate datasets and access to the Microsoft Azure automated machine learning environment. According to the test sets we performed, we see that, by using an automated machine learning environment, it was possible to reach the precision level of the decisions we wanted. The main obstacle was not the used automated machine learning environment itself, but the quality of the data used for learning. We also made improvement suggestions regarding how data could be collected and what kind of data we should measure to make predictive data analysis better and be more usable in the future. Full article

At the starting point of this case study, a garrison hospital performed an assessment of the need for treatment when the number of conscripts queuing at reception is at its highest level. The research aims to find out the reasons for conscripts’ perceived long waiting times, which causes absence from the conscripts’ training. According to the predictions made by the queuing simulation, the hospital’s staff are able to receive patients arriving at reception in the morning without the queue time causing undue harm to training. However, during large congestion peaks, the waiting times may become unreasonable, which would require an increase in human resources. Peaks of congestion usually occur at the beginning of the week, as well as on days with heavy military training. Full article

In this article, we examine toxic masculinity, anti-feminist, anti-globalisation, and anti-military conscription positions in the narratives of what constitutes success and failure among young South Korean men during the COVID-19 pandemic. Misogynistic accounts attributed to the globalised effects of neoliberalism and its evolution through South Korean meritocratic competition, compounded by the social isolation of the pandemic, remain a puzzle psychologically, despite their toxic emotionality. We use the analytical framework of ressentiment to consolidate references to moral victimhood, indignation, a sense of destiny, powerlessness, and transvaluation, as components of a single emotional mechanism responsible for misogynistic accounts. In an empirical plausibility probe, we analyse qualitative surveys with young South Korean men and examine the content of the far-right social sharing site Ilbe (일베) which hosts conversations of young men about success and self-improvement. Our findings show envy, shame, and inefficacious anger transvaluated into to moral victimhood, misogynistic hatred, vindictiveness against women and feminists, and anti-globalisation stances. We discuss how the content of these narratives of success and failure in ressentiment relates to the electoral win of the right-wing People Power party in March 2022 which capitalised on anti-feminist grievances. We also consider the socio-political consequences of ressentiment narratives in the highly gendered and polarised South Korean society and expand the study of ressentiment outside the context of Western democracies where it has been most extensively elaborated. Full article

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between suicide risk, alcohol consumption, and attitudes towards professional psychological help among Lithuanian general population men, conscripts, and regular active duty (AD) soldiers. In total, 1195 Lithuanian adult males participated in the study: 445 men from the general population, 490 conscripts, and 260 regular AD soldiers from the Lithuanian Armed Forces. The study’s measures included: general suicide risk, alcohol consumption levels, frequency of using alcohol as a means to suppress difficult thoughts and feelings, and attitudes toward psychological help. Both military samples showed significantly lower suicide risk than men from the general population. Alcohol use as a means to suppress difficult thoughts and feelings was the most significant predictor of suicide risk and a significant mediator between alcohol consumption and suicide risk in all study groups. Another significant suicide risk predictor and mediator between alcohol consumption and suicide risk—i.e., the value of seeking psychological treatment—was found only in the conscript sample. Results of the current study suggest that there is an opportunity for intervention aimed at the attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help for conscripts. However, that might not be the case for regular AD soldiers, nor the general population of Lithuanian men. Full article

Conscripts are exposed to various sources of impulse noise despite hearing protection recommendations. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of acute acoustic trauma (AAT) among conscripts after exposure to assault rifle noise in the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF). This nationwide population-based cohort comprised all conscripts (>220,000) in the FDF during the years 1997–2003 and 2008–2010. We included those who claimed to have AAT symptoms from assault rifle noise during the study periods. During the investigated 10 years, 1617 conscripts (annual variation, 75–276) experienced a new hearing loss due to AAT. Altogether, 1456 (90%) of all AAT-induced hearing losses were caused by rifle-caliber weapons and 1304 (90%) of them when firing a blank cartridge. There was no clear diminishing trend in the annual numbers of AATs. In 1277 (88%) incidents, no hearing protector was used. Tinnitus was the most prominent symptom. Hearing losses after AAT were typically mild, but serious deficits also occurred. In conclusion, we found that 0.7–1.5% of the conscripts experienced an AAT during their service in the FDF. Most incidents occurred when firing a blank cartridge with a rifle-caliber weapon and with no hearing protector in use. Full article

The Estonian Defense Forces are the basis of military service, mandatory for all male citizens of the Republic of Estonia who are at least 17 years old. The physical load in military service, especially in the first stage, is significantly greater than for men in everyday life. Therefore, it is important to know if health promotion in civilian life adequately prepares young people for military service and to what extent pre-military health behaviors affect physical performance during service. The purpose of this work was to examine conscripts’ physical fitness at different stages of military service and its relationships with previous lifestyle. Soldiers’ physical fitness was estimated three times during military service using three tests: sit-ups, push-ups and 2-mile run. Lifestyle and socio-economic background data was collected by a web-based questionnaire (n = 235). Linear regression analysis was performed using Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) scores as dependent variables and questionnaire data as independent variables. The socio-economic background variables had no effect on physical fitness scores throughout the training period (p > 0.05). Young men that were physically more active daily, did sports, had healthier diet and did not smoke before entering military service showed better physical fitness test results throughout the period of service (p < 0.05). The effect of participation in sports was evident, as the conscripts with previous sports experiences demonstrated higher fitness tests scores (p < 0.01). These findings show that health promotion initiatives or programs for promoting physical activity and healthy diet, and preventing obesity and tobacco use, can also have a positive effect on the physical performance of young men during military service. Full article

When William Came (1913) is Hector Hugh Munro’s (Saki) novel that describes the German invasion of Britain and its aftermath. It has been regarded as a propaganda novel since its publication, calling for conscription and the like; however, its psychological portrayal of Londoners under German rule is worth reading. Though there are studies on the literary and cultural aspects of this work, none have examined how realistic his depiction would be if Britain had lost the war. However, the premise of this work—how to live in a situation where a traditionally powerful nation is defeated and, because it is an island nation, it is impossible to reverse its defeat—can be historically examined. This study examines the accuracy of Munro’s imaginings by comparing his imagined post-war British people with real post-World War II Japanese people. Although it can be argued that Munro was optimistic about the existence of the colonies, the results show numerous similarities between the changes in the two populations, before and after the war, and in their feelings towards the victorious nation. Munro’s insights into people were surprisingly profound. Full article