'It takes a village': deciphering the role of the gut microbiome in the health and performance of military personnel

The human gut microbiome can be impacted by a range of environmental and lifestyle factors including diet, antibiotics, physical fitness and acute and chronic stressors. There is also evidence to suggest that specific compositional and/or functional features of the gut microbiome are mediators of aspects of health and performance including disease susceptibility, cognitive and physical states and the immune response. Therefore, understanding microbe-to-microbe and nutrient-to-microbe interactions in the gut and how they interact with host biology (eg, via the gut-brain axis) could enable better design of interventions aimed at modulating the gut microbiome to improve the health and performance of the military. Accordingly, this review summarises a thematic session hosted at the 6th International Conference on Soldier Physical Performance which provided an overview of military-relevant research related to the gut microbiome. It articulates a timely opportunity to leverage this rapidly advancing area to improve personnel health and military performance.