EVALUATION OF NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND THE LEVEL OF PHYSICAL FITNESS OF MILITARY FLYING PERSONNEL STAYING AT THE TRAINING CAMP

high physical fi tness shown in the study, it should be concluded that training and fi tness camps play an important role in maintaining high psychophysical fi tness of the participants.

The aim of the conducted research was to assess the nutritional status and level of physical fi tness of the military fl ying personnel staying at the three-week training camp in Zakopane-Gronik.
The research involved 90 members of the military fl ying personnel staying on a three--week camp in the Military Training and Fitness Centre (WOSzK) in Zakopane. The mean age of the respondents was 34.57±7.14 years. At the beginning and at the end of the camp period the body composition was measured and anthropometric tests were performed. In order to assess physical fi tness, the scores from a physical fi tness test carried out on the last day of the camp were used.
During the training and fi tness camp period, signifi cant improvements (p < 0.05) were observed in the nutritional status of military fl ying personnel, including the content of body fat (20.14±4.02 vs. 19.50±3.89%), visceral fat (6.48±2.79 vs. 6.16±2.65), muscle mass (61.23±5.61 vs. 61.77±5.61 kg), total body water (44.59±3.70 vs. 44.75±4.42 kg) and waist circumference (88.51±6.78 vs. 87.18±6.72 cm), and basal metabolism (1891.5±78.5 vs. 1903.9±177.3 kcal). 62.2% of the examined participants of the camp obtained a very good fi nal score in the fi tness test in all of the disciplines assessed, which indicates their high physical fi tness. The soldiers who obtained a very good fi nal score from the exam were younger (33.39±7.08 vs 36.50±6.92; p < 0.05) and had lower content of body fat (18.73±3.89 vs 20.77±3.53; p < 0.05) compared to those who obtained a good fi nal score.

INTRODUCTION
Proper nutritional status is one of the basic factors for maintaining high psychophysical fi tness and good health of members of military fl ying personnel.
The nutritional status of the organism is understood as the health condition resulting from the usual consumption of food, including the absorption and utilization of the nutrients contained therein, as well as from the infl uence of pathological factors on these processes [4]. Although the nutritional status of the body is infl uenced by various factors, i.e. genetic, environmental and psychological factors [13], it is essential to maintain a proper energy balance, i.e. to ensure a balance between the energy and nutritional value of the food consumed and the amount of energy expenditure required for everyday life activity.
In order to assess the nutritional status, it is common to conduct anthropometric tests and to use the non-invasive bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), determining, among others, body fat mass (FM), fat-free body mass (FFM) and total body water (TBW) [5].
In military aviation, much attention is paid to issues related to the proper preparation of military fl ying personnel for performing tasks in the air. Maintaining proper nutritional status of the body, and consequently high effi ciency and psychophysical fi tness increases the body's tolerance to adverse environmental factors and, consequently, allows to extend the period of service. One of the very unfavorable phenomena that should be counteracted in members of military fl ying personnel is the so-called hypokinetic syndrome, which consists in limiting their mobility. Counteracting this type of phenomena is one of many tasks of the Military Training and Fitness Centres (WOSZK), to which military pilots and other fl ying personnel must come once a year. The centres, where three-week training camps are organized, have a rich sports base, including swimming pools, gyms, various sports grounds, climbing walls, as well as highly qualifi ed staff . The assessment of the level of physical fi tness of the participants is carried out at the end of the camp in the form of a physical test. The aim of the examination is to assess the muscle endurance, speed, dynamic strength and agility of the participant.
The stay of members of the military fl ying personnel in the Military Training and Fitness Centres is primarily aimed at regenerating their physical strength and improving their psychophysical resistance. The role of the centres should also be to improve the nutritional parameters of the trained soldiers with a properly designed training plan and correctly composed and balanced meals during the camp.
The aim of the conducted research was to assess the nutritional status and level of physical fi tness of the military fl ying personnel staying at the three-week training camp in Zakopane-Gronik.

Characteristics of the test group
The research was carried out among military fl ying personnel staying at the Military Training and Fitness Centre in Zakopane-Gronik for three weeks. The research was conducted in 2014. The study group consisted of 90 men. The average age of the participants was 34.57 ± 7.14 years, average body mass 80.97 ± 8.33 kg, average height 177.44 ± 6.39 cm and average BMI 25.74 ± 2.52 kg/m 2 .
The research was voluntary, the soldiers gave their informed consent for participation in it.

Measurement methods
At the beginning and at the end of the camp, the military fl ying personnel were subjected to the following tests: 1. Measurement of body composition (including body fat, fat-free body mass, total body water and basal metabolism) using the bioelectrical impedance method, with the use of Tanita SC-330 analyzer (produced in Japan). The subjects were fasted, in underwear only.
In connection with the improvement of nutritional parameters of the military fl ying personnel, as well as their high physical fi tness shown in the study, it should be concluded that training and fi tness camps play an important role in maintaining high psychophysical fi tness of the participants.
nutritional status, physical fi tness, training camp, military fl ying personnel Keywords:

Original Article
All soldiers during their stay at the training camp were provided with full board, planned according to the basic board standard 040 [10].

Statistical tools used
The statistical analysis of the data was performed in PS IMAGO PRO (IBM SPSS Statistics 25). The level of statistical signifi cance was assumed to be p < 0.05. The normality of data distribution was verifi ed using the Shapiro-Wilk test. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the examined variables, i.e. mean, standard deviation, median, minimum value and maximum value. The chisquare test and U Mann-Whitney test were used for intergroup comparisons (fi nal evaluation). The Wilcoxon test and McNemar-Bowker test were used to verify the signifi cance of diff erences before and after the camp. Descriptive statistics are presented in tables, the calculated percentages are shown in diagrams.

RESULTS
The results of the analyses showed that during a three-week stay at a training camp most of the 2. Assessment of the degree of overweight and obesity based on the BMI (Body Mass Index) and body fat content, according to the criteria of the World Health Organization (WHO) [14]. 3. Anthropometric measurements, including height, body mass, waist and hip circumference. In order to assess physical fi tness, the scores from the military fi tness test for the fl ying personnel, carried out on the last day of their stay in the WOSZK, were used. The following sports disciplines were included in the fi tness test: zigzag run (sec.), pull-ups (number), long jump (cm), sit-ups (within 2 min.), running 10x10 m (sec.), push-ups with legs on bench (number) and swimming over 50 m (sec.). In order to compare the scores obtained during the fi tness test with the applicable standards, the participants were divided into age groups, in accordance with the regulations applied in the Polish Army in carrying out the physical fi tness test [9]  62.2% of the examined participants of the camp obtained a very good fi nal grade in the fi tness test in all of the disciplines assessed. This grade decreased with the age of the examined soldiers, as shown in fi gure 3.  The fi nal grade for the exam by age group.

p -chi-square test result
The analysis of the test results also revealed signifi cant diff erences in the overall scores from the fi tness test obtained by the participants of the camp, diff erentiated in terms of the body fat percentage. Those who obtained a very good score measured parameters of the nutritional status of military fl ying personnel improved signifi cantly (tab. 1).
The data presented in table 1 indicate that the mean total body fat content, visceral fat content, as well as the waist circumference of the examined participants (p < 0.05) have signifi cantly decreased. However, the average body water content, muscle mass and basal metabolism increased signifi cantly (p < 0.05).
There were no signifi cant changes in the value of BMI of the participants over the course of the camp (fi g. 1). p = 0.5637 Fig. 1.
Percentage distribution of the BMI of the fl ying personnel fl ying before and after the camp at the WOSzK in Zakopane-Gronik.

p -chi-square test result
The percentage of people with overweight and obesity according to the BMI was similar at the beginning and at the end of the camp, as shown in fi gure 1. However, the percentage of people with normal body fat content increased signifi cantly from 43% to 51%, while the percentage of people with body fat content indicating overweight and obesity decreased (fi g. 2). respondents, i.e. 10.5% in the age group up to 30 years and 18.9% of older respondents [6]. Bertrandt and Kłos, when examining a group of military fl ight engineers and navigators based on the BMI index, found overweight in 45% and 54% of them respectively, while obesity was observed in 24% of engineers and 22% of navigators [1]. Taking into account the assessment of the BMI, overweight was also observed in 80% of the GROM soldiers. No obesity was found in this group. However, the authors of the study indicate the occurrence of overweight resulting from muscles, as the body fat percentage was within acceptable standards [11].
In the study of the nutritional status of the soldiers of the Representative Honor Guard Regiment of the Polish Armed Forces, the highest number of soldiers with overweight (BMI > 25 kg/ m 2 ) was found in the group aged 26-30 -60.8%, and the lowest in the group of the oldest soldiers over 40 -42.8%. The oldest age group recorded the highest number of obese soldiers (BMI > 30 kg/m 2 ) -28.6%, while in the younger age group (31-40) almost every 10th soldier was obese (9.1%). The lowest percentage of obesity was observed in younger soldiers (5.0%) [8].
In the study on the nutritional status of 123 soldiers serving in one of the units of chemical troops, half of the examined soldiers in the group of up to 30 years old were found to have normal body mass, while in the group of older soldiers the percentage of people with normal body mass (BMI in the range 18.5-24.9 kg/m 2 ) was lower and amounted to 46.4% [7].
In the above-mentioned works, researchers evaluated body mass disorders based primarily on the BMI. However, it should be remembered that despite its simplicity and frequent use in studies on nutritional status, this index is burdened by an error because it does not take into account the body composition of the examined person and therefore may lead to misinterpretation of the re-from the fi tness test at the end of the camp had a lower body fat content compared to those who obtained a good score (p = 0.009), as shown in table 3.

DISCUSSION
Physical fi tness, as well as nutritional status, are linked to health, which is why the Polish Army devotes much attention to them. The requirements for military pilots concerning general physical fi tness and performance are very high. The way to improve and achieve the optimum level of fi tness and performance parameters of military fl ying personnel is a regular training oriented to general and specialist preparation. These functions are carried out, among others, in the WOSZK in Zakopane-Gronik.
The assessment of nutritional status indicates whether the physiological needs of the examined person are met in relation to their nutritional requirements. The research on the nutritional status of the Polish Army soldiers carried out for years shows the occurrence of overweight and obesity both in soldiers beginning their military service, and in those serving in the army for many years. According to the research carried out by scientists from the Military Institute of Aviation Medicine in Warsaw, overweight and obesity assessed on the basis of body fat content were found in respectively 21.6% and 16.2% of 4th and 5th year students of the Air Force Academy [3]. In other studies, conducted on a group of 172 military pilots, obesity was found in 5.2% of soldiers [2].
Research on the nutritional status of military fl ying personnel published in 2008 by the team from the Military Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology on the basis of BMI analysis showed the occurrence of overweight in a smaller number of participants (50%) compared to the authors' research presented in this paper. Obesity, on the other hand, was found in a higher percentage of unit is much higher. They received a very good score in all fi tness tests [11]. For example, in the situps they had 91.5 repetitions (i.e. 26.6 more repetitions) and 18.27 repetitions in pull-ups (i.e. 5.9 more repetitions). In a 10 x 10 m run, however, the GROM soldiers recorded a time that was 2.9 seconds worse than that of the military fl ying personnel examined.
To sum up, the research conducted revealed that members of military fl ying personnel are characterized by high physical fi tness and that their body composition parameters are improved during the training camp. On this basis, it can be concluded that the Military Training and Fitness Centres perform their functions and allow to improve the overall psychophysical fi tness of the military fl ying personnel.

CONCLUSIONS
Participation in the three-week training camp has a positive impact on the nutritional status of the military fl ying personnel.
The results obtained from the fi tness test indicate high physical fi tness of the participants of the training camp.
Due to the improvement in the nutritional status parameters observed in the respondents, as well as taking into account their high physical fi tness, it can be concluded that training camps play an important role in maintaining high psychophysical fi tness of the military fl ying personnel.
sults, especially in people with extensive muscle mass.
Based on the conducted research, it should be concluded that the nutritional status of the examined military fl ying personnel is not fully satisfactory, as excessive body weight according to the BMI was found in over 60% of the examined persons, while excessive body fat content was observed in over 50% of the participants (fi g. 1 and fi g. 2).
As far as the level of physical fi tness of the military fl ying personnel is concerned, the conducted research has shown that the soldiers received good and very good scores for particular physical fi tness tests, according to the system of scores adopted in the Polish Army. Similar results were obtained by Tomczak et al. [12], assessing the level of physical fi tness of air cavalry soldiers. In addition, the study revealed that those who received a very good fi nal score from the fi tness test were younger and had a lower body fat content compared to soldiers who received a good score. On this basis, it can be concluded that training plans should be properly designed, especially for older groups of soldiers, in order to help them maintain high physical fi tness in subsequent years of service.
Comparing the results of the physical fi tness assessment of the military fl ying personnel during the training camp with the results of the GROM soldiers, it has been demonstrated that the level of physical fi tness of the soldiers of the special