Prospective study of lifestyle behaviour in Austrian soldiers
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN13067220 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN13067220 |
| EudraCT/CTIS number | 2015-002941-75 |
- Submission date
- 18/09/2025
- Registration date
- 19/09/2025
- Last edited
- 19/09/2025
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Other
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
Obesity is a growing health problem worldwide, affecting both civilians and soldiers. Military service can sometimes lead to unhealthy habits, like poor eating or more smoking. The study aimed to see how Austrian conscripts’ lifestyle and body composition (weight, body fat, nutrition habits) change during mandatory service, and whether an educational program could prevent negative effects.
Who can participate?
Male Austrian citizens, aged 18 and above, who were drafted into mandatory military service and assigned to a Guards regiment. Men with serious chronic health problems were already excluded by the army before service. Women were not included, since mandatory service in Austria only applies to men.
What does the study involve?
Two companies of soldiers were randomly split into an intervention group and a control group.
The intervention group received 15 hours of lifestyle education during duty hours in their first month. Topics included healthy nutrition, exercise, smoking, alcohol, stress, and practical guidance on choosing food in the army canteen.
Measurements (weight, body fat, nutrition knowledge, diet quality) were taken at the start, after 3 months, and at the end of service (6 months).
Both groups filled out questionnaires about eating habits, nutrition knowledge, and smoking.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Benefits: Participants in the intervention group gained knowledge on healthy habits, which helped them maintain better diet quality and less body fat gain during service.
Risks: No major risks were reported. Some small risks included minor inconvenience from measurements or time spent in extra sessions.
Where is the study run from?
The study was conducted in two companies of a Guards regiment in the Austrian Armed Forces. The research was coordinated by the Medical University of Vienna and the Austrian Academic Institute of Clinical Nutrition.
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
September 2015 to November 2016
Who is funding the study?
The study was funded by the Austrian Ministry of Defence and Sports (grant number E90053/100/0-KA/2015).
Who is the main contact?
helk@oeaie.org
Contact information
Public, Scientific, Principal Investigator
Alserstraße 14/4a
Vienna
1090
Austria
 ORCID ID |
0000-0003-1244-0751 |
|---|---|
| Phone | +43 1 4026472 |
| helk@oeaie.org |
Study information
| Study design | Single-center prospective interventional cluster-randomized controlled study |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Cluster randomised trial |
| Study setting(s) | Training facility/simulation, Workplace, Other |
| Study type | Other, Prevention |
| Scientific title | Prospective study of lifestyle behaviour in Austrian soldiers |
| Study acronym | PROSOLAS |
| Study objectives | A standardized lifestyle intervention prevents body fat gain in Austrian conscripts compared to untreated controls |
| Ethics approval(s) |
Approved 09/09/2015, Ethics committee of the Austrian Armed Forces (Schwenkgasse 47, Vienna, 1120, Austria; +43/50 201-10 27705; bundesheer.w@bmlvs.at), ref: EK042/S93858 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Prevention of adverse lifestyle behaviour and body fat gain in Austrian conscripts |
| Intervention | Upon completion of the baseline assessments, all subjects in the intervention group receive a standardized nutritional- and lifestyle intervention in the form of educational sessions on the topics of healthy nutrition, physical activity, smoking and alcohol consumption delivered by healthcare professionals. The participants in the intervention group also receive practical advice on how to navigate the army canteen and are trained to correctly identify healthy food choices in two of these sessions. Furthermore, the subjects in the intervention group receive a session on resilience. In total, 15 one-hour long group-sessions are delivered. The lessons are delivered by a medical doctor with a post-graduate diploma in nutrition medicine, developed in close cooperation with nutritional scientists and reviewed by psychologists. Topics that are discussed include: • Micro- and macronutrients and their physiological roles • The importance of physical activity • The dangers of smoking and alcohol • Practical guidance on how to choose healthy snacks • Health-related consequences of poor nutrition • Ideal food choices to fulfil macro- and micronutrient requirements • The effects of psychological stress on nutrition habits and how to handle stress No intervention is performed in the control group, however, assessments of body composition and eating habits are performed at baseline and at a 6 months follow up following the same procedures as with the intervention group. |
| Intervention type | Behavioural |
| Primary outcome measure | Body fat percentage measured using bioimpedance analysis at baseline and 6 months follow up |
| Secondary outcome measures | Nutrition quality measured using the alternate healthy eating index at baseline and follow up |
| Overall study start date | 09/09/2015 |
| Completion date | 30/11/2016 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Healthy volunteer, Other |
|---|---|
| Age group | Adult |
| Lower age limit | 18 Years |
| Upper age limit | 35 Years |
| Sex | Male |
| Target number of participants | 160 |
| Total final enrolment | 403 |
| Key inclusion criteria | 1. Willingness and ability to provide informed consent 2. General well-being 3. Positive screening for eligibility for service in Austrian Guards regiment |
| Key exclusion criteria | 1. Inability or unsuitability to undergo mandatory service for any reason 2. Transferal to barracks outside of Vienna over the course of the mandatory service |
| Date of first enrolment | 01/10/2015 |
| Date of final enrolment | 03/10/2015 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- Austria
Study participating centre
Vienna
1090
Austria
Sponsor information
Government
Roßauer Lände 1
Vienna
1090
Austria
| Phone | +43 50201 - 0 |
|---|---|
| bundesheer.w@bmlvs.at | |
| Website | http://www.bmlvs.at |
Funders
Funder type
Government
No information available
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | No |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Not expected to be made available |
| Publication and dissemination plan | Planned publication in a peer-reviewed journal |
| IPD sharing plan | Due to the non-voluntary nature of mandatory service the ethics committee of the Austrian Armed Forces identified the conscripts participating in our study as a protected group. Therefore, ethical concerns were raised with the practice of uploading the study data set into a publicly accessible data repository as individual subjects may be identified despite the pseudonymized nature of our data. Selected data subsets may be provided upon reasonable request to the corresponding author (email: oliver.helk@meduniwien.ac.at). |
Editorial Notes
19/09/2025: Trial's existence confirmed by Ethics committee of the Austrian Armed Forces.
