Body Mass Bias in Exercise Physiology

Abstract

Body mass bias in the field of exercise physiology has been the subject of increased focus over the past twenty years. This is based primarily on the fact that key widely held assumptions about the relationships between body mass and human performance have been challenged by theory and empirical data. The result for how we express certain variables of physical fitness has been generally two-fold: a systematic and meaningful body mass bias against larger, not fatter, individuals and spurious attribution of the effect of body mass on key dependent variables. Physical educators, the military services, law enforcement agencies, and conditioning coaches have readily used fitness tests comprised of events that involve body mass as the primary resistance. Common tests include pushups, situps, and timed distance runs. Virtually none of these tests takes into account one’s body mass in scoring because a common assumption has been that larger people have more muscle to move the heavier mass. In short, these factors are assumed to “wash out” any body mass bias. Empirical research has shown, however, that these types of tests impose a substantial and predictable bias against larger, not just fatter, body mass (Crowder & Yunker, 1996; Harman & Frykman, 1992; Jaric et al., 2005; Markovic & Jaric, 2004; Vanderburgh et al., 1995). Similarly, because maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max, in L/min) and maximal strength increase with body mass, a common convention to compare individuals is to divide VO2max or strength measures by body mass. Expressing these human performance indices as simple ratios this way has been scrutinized given that the numerator does not change at the same rate as the denominator (Astrand & Rodahl, 1986; Heil, 1997). Again, the result is not only a body mass bias against larger individuals but, in the case of inferential research, improper accounting for the effects of body mass on outcome variables. In certain physically demanding occupations, especially the military, body mass bias has substantive implications. Work physiologists have determined that despite body mass bias in the common military physical fitness tests, the larger service members were often better performers of the physically demanding occupational tasks (Bilzon et al., 2002; Lyons et al., 2005; Rayson et al., 2000). That is, they could carry more, more easily evacuate casualties, and better engage in heavy materiel handling. Yet, the smaller personnel were achieving better scores on the physical fitness tests, the results of which have significant promotion and advancement implications (Vanderburgh & Mahar , 1995; Crowder & Yunker, 1996). This chapter chronicles the fundamentals and applications of body mass bias in fitness and exercise physiology, to include the theory and empirical data used to evaluate it. It also