A 202.5 lb (92 kg) warfighter has issues maintaining unit standards for road marches. What is contributing most to the poor load carriage performance?

The most significant contributor to poor load carriage performance for the warfighter is body fat percentage. A higher body fat percentage can negatively impact a soldier's ability to efficiently carry weight during road marches. This is due to the added mass that does not contribute to a soldier's functional strength or endurance in the same way as muscle mass does. Excess body fat requires additional energy expenditure, which can lead to quicker fatigue and decrease overall performance during weight-bearing activities.

While lower body strength, VO2 max, and cardiovascular endurance are also important factors in overall performance, they may not be as directly influential on load carriage as body fat percentage. Lower body strength is crucial for carrying loads effectively; however, if a warfighter has a high body fat percentage, even strong muscles may struggle against the added weight, diminishing their performance. Similar reasoning applies to VO2 max and cardiovascular endurance; a warfighter with excellent cardiovascular metrics may still struggle if they are carrying excess body fat, as the load burden can outweigh any advantages those metrics provide. Thus, body fat percentage stands out as the foremost factor affecting load carriage performance in this scenario.