Effects of heat acclimatisation on work tolerance and thermoregulation in trained tropical natives

This study aimed to investigate the effects of heat acclimatisation on thermoregulatory responses and work tolerance in trained individuals residing in the tropics. Eighteen male trained soldiers, who are native to a warm and humid climate, performed a total of four heat stress tests donning the Skeletal Battle Order (SBO, 20.5kg) and Full Battle Order (FBO, 24.7kg) before (PRE) and after (POST) a 10-day heat acclimatisation programme. The trials were conducted in an environmental chamber (dry bulb temperature: 32°C, relative humidity: 70%, solar radiation: 400W/m2). Excluding the data sets of which participants fully completed the heat stress tests (210min) before and after heat acclimatisation, work tolerance was improved from 173±30 to 201±18min (∼21%, p