The Relationship between Human Energy Supply and Environmental and Training Factors

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Submission deadlines

  1. Manuscript Summary Submission Deadline 18 January 2026 | Manuscript Submission Deadline 8 May 2026

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Background

The mechanism of human energy supply and its relationship with the external environment and training methods are core topics in sports science and human function research. Over the years, researchers worldwide have conducted extensive explorations in this field. For example, studies on cold adaptation and thermal protection in the Winter Olympics, as well as research on oxygen inhalation and high-intensity training in high-altitude environments, have all achieved positive results, providing an important basis for understanding the functional regulation of the human body under complex conditions. In the military field, the physical performance of soldiers in various complex environments is closely related to energy supply, which has also become a key research focus.

Given the importance of this topic, it is essential to further explore how various environmental and training factors affect human energy supply, and what practical value such research holds. Environmental factors such as temperature, air pressure, altitude, and oxygen content, as well as different training methods and equipment, have a significant impact on human energy consumption and physical performance. A low-temperature environment may cause harm to the human body and force the body to consume more energy to maintain core body temperature; high-altitude areas, due to low oxygen content, can change the human body's aerobic metabolism and energy supply methods; terrain factors such as road slope will also affect energy consumption, and when the slope increases, the body's energy demand also increases significantly.

Obtaining the maximum energy supply capacity of the human body is not only helpful to improve the scientificity of sports training (such as optimizing athletes' training plans and improving competitive performance) but also of great significance for evaluating the combat effectiveness and work efficiency of personnel in special scenarios (such as military operations and extreme environment operations). In military conflicts, understanding the energy consumption rules of soldiers in high-temperature, low-oxygen, and long-term load marching situations can provide a basis for formulating reasonable combat deployment and logistics support plans. For example, knowing the energy consumption of soldiers under different combat intensities can help reasonably arrange supplies to ensure that soldiers maintain a good combat state.

Despite these advancements, several challenges remain in this field. Although certain progress has been made, there are still many areas to be explored in the research on human energy supply. Some key data need to be obtained from the analysis of similar extreme events, and how to carry out such research under the premise of ensuring ethics and safety (such as experimental design simulating extreme low temperature, ultra-high altitude, and other environments) is an urgent problem to be solved. In terms of human trials, how to obtain human energy supply data closer to extreme scenarios such as real military conflicts without harming the health of subjects is a major challenge faced by research. In addition, the comprehensive impact mechanism of the interaction of different factors (such as environment and training) on energy supply has not yet formed a systematic understanding.

To address these gaps and promote interdisciplinary collaboration, this Research Topic welcomes innovative research contributions around the following directions:

(1) The impact of different training methods (such as high-altitude training, high-intensity interval training, etc.) on the human energy supply mechanism, especially research on training methods to improve soldiers' physical fitness in military conflicts: including how training methods regulate energy-producing pathways such as glycolysis and oxidative metabolism, as well as the adaptive changes in human energy reserve and mobilization capacity after long-term training, exploring training methods that can quickly improve soldiers' energy supply efficiency in complex battlefield environments.

(2) Research on the role of training equipment in optimizing human energy utilization and improving adaptability, especially equipment suitable for military training: such as the improvement of energy consumption efficiency by smart wearable devices, portable resistance training equipment, field hypoxic simulation devices, etc., and how to use these devices to help improve soldiers' adaptability to special battlefield environments.

(3) The correlation mechanism between environmental factors such as temperature, air pressure, altitude, and oxygen content and human energy consumption and physical performance, focusing on various extreme environments that may be involved in military conflicts: focusing on exploring how changes in battlefield environmental parameters affect the respiratory, circulatory, metabolic, and other systems, thereby changing soldiers' energy consumption rate and physical limits.

(4) Research on evaluation methods and safety thresholds for the limit of human energy supply in special environments, covering extreme environments in military operations: including quantitative evaluation tools for the limit of soldiers' energy supply in extreme battlefield environments (such as high temperature in deserts, plateau mountains, and humid heat in jungles), as well as the setting of safety early warning thresholds based on physiological indicators to ensure the combat safety of soldiers.

(5) The application transformation of human energy supply research in sports, military, and other fields, highlighting applications in the military field: such as transforming basic research results into soldiers' physical training programs, energy supply strategies in military operations, and protection strategies for personnel in extreme battlefield environments.

We look forward to researchers sharing their original research results in related fields, jointly promoting theoretical innovation and practical application in the field of the relationship between human energy supply and environmental and training factors, and contributing to improving sports competitive levels and military combat effectiveness.

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Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

  • Brief Research Report
  • Case Report
  • Clinical Trial
  • Data Report
  • Editorial
  • FAIR² Data
  • General Commentary
  • Hypothesis and Theory
  • Methods
  • Mini Review
  • Opinion
  • Original Research
  • Perspective
  • Review
  • Systematic Review
  • Technology and Code

Keywords: human energy supply, environmental factors, training methods, military performance, extreme environments, physical adaptation

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