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RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SELECT ANTHROPOMETRIC VARIABLES AND PHYSICAL FITNESS TEST PERFORMANCE IN ROTC CADETS BY SEX

Abstract

Jordan K. Jeffers1, Michael A. Trevino1, Douglas B. Smith1, Jacob R. Scraper2, Robert G. Lockie3, J. Jay Dawes1

1Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma; 290th Troop Command, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; 3California State University-Fullerton, Fullerton, California

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine if relationships existed between body composition and measures of muscular endurance and aerobic fitness among male and female ROTC cadets METHODS: Archived data for 76 (male = 57, female = 19) Army ROTC cadets from a large Midwestern university were used for this analysis. Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) scores for the 2-minute push-up, 2-minute sit-up, and 2-mile run test were performed by cadets as part of their normal physical training. One week after performing the APFT, height, body mass, and body fat percentage (BF%) (e.g., InBody 270) were collected. Using these measurements, body mass index (BMI) and lean body mass (LBM) were then calculated based on the information provided. Descriptive statistics were calculated for each measured parameter for the males and females. Pearson’s correlations calculated relationships between each of the anthropometric variables and fitness tests were calculated separately for each sex. RESULTS: No significant relationships (p>0.05) were discovered between any anthropometric measures and performance among male cadets. In contrast, significant negative relationships were found between body mass in both push-up (r=-0.464; p=0.045) and sit-up (r=-0.483; p=0.043) performance for the female cadets. Significant negative relationships were also observed between LBM and push-up (r=-0.487; p=0.035) and sit-up (r=-0.481; p=0.043) performance. Additionally, significant positive correlations were observed between 2-mile run time and body mass (r=0.728; p=0.001), LBM (r=0.583; p=0.018) and BF% (r=0.576; p=0.019) for female cadets. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggested that greater body mass and LBM may negatively impact muscular endurance performance among female cadets, whereas body mass, LBM, and BF% negatively correlated with run time. In contrast, no relationships between performance and the selected anthropometric variables were discovered among males. These results suggest that greater BM, BF% and LBM may not favor endurance performance among female cadets. More research is needed to determine the impact of these anthropometric variables on strength and occupational related tasks.

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