Education

UF researcher applies sweat science to keep Brazil’s World Cup squad safe in the heat

Orlando Laitano, an assistant professor at UF’s College of Health and Human Performance, has spent more than a decade developing individualized hydration strategies for Brazil’s national soccer team ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Using sweat-collection patches and monitoring systems during a recent training camp in Orlando, Laitano measures each player’s fluid, sodium, and chloride losses to build personalized hydration plans. The same research, funded in part by the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health, also targets exertional heat illness affecting soldiers and laborers.

Sources: UF News