Association between Body Fat Percentage and Physical Performance in Male Korean Police Officers

Jooyoung Kim,Sangwoon Kim,Wi-Young So

doi:10.3390/su12093868

Jooyoung Kim, Sangwoon Kim + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su12093868

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Abstract

Body composition can affect a police officer’s physical performance. We analyzed the correlation between body fat percentage (%fat) and physical performance in 326 male Korean police officers (age, 44.2 ± 9.2 years; height, 174.0 ± 4.5 cm; weight, 76.4 ± 8.8 kg) who were classified into two groups according to their %fat: high-fat (HFG, %fat ≥ 25%; n = 135) and low-fat (LFG, %fat < 25%; n = 191). Physical performance tests included a 100-m sprint, push-ups, sit-ups, and a hand-grip strength test. The results showed significant differences in performance between the groups in the 100-m sprint (p = 0.001) and in the sit-up test (p = 0.033), but not for push-ups (p = 0.130) or hand-grip strength (p = 0.255). A significant positive correlation was found between %fat and the 100-m sprint (r = 0.255, p < 0.000), and a negative correlation was found between %fat and push-ups (r = −0.117, p = 0.035) and sit-ups (r = −0.199, p < 0.000). However, there was no significant correlation between %fat and hand-grip strength (r = −0.093, p = 0.095). To improve physical performance, an intervention training program is recommended for reducing %fat, because high levels of %fat in male Korean police officers were associated with low levels of physical performance.

Highlights

Police officers are under high levels of physical and psychological stress because of their wide-ranging duties in terms of crime prevention and safety maintenance [1,2]
We investigated the correlation between %fat and physical performance, measured using a 100-m sprint, push-ups, sit-ups, and hand-grip strength in male Korean police officers
The results showed that high %fat in male Korean police officers correlated to poor performance in the 100-m sprint, sit-ups, and push-ups, consistent with our hypothesis

Summary

Introduction

Police officers are under high levels of physical and psychological stress because of their wide-ranging duties in terms of crime prevention and safety maintenance [1,2]. Several studies have reported increases in the numbers of overweight and obese police officers [5,6,7]. Their physical performance levels decreased significantly as job experience increased [8,9]. Lagestad et al [8] reported that the performance of bench presses and standing long jumps by police officers who had worked for 16 years decreased approximately between 10% and 32% based on past police academy graduation times, and the effects were evident in terms of reduced upper body strength. Sörensen et al followed up the physical performance of Finnish police officers who had worked for 15 years, in terms of maximal oxygen consumption, push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups, and found that their performance with respect to these items had significantly decreased from baseline data [9]

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