Demographic Differences in Body Composition of Navy and Marine Corps Personnel: Findings from the Perception of Wellness and Readiness Assessment

Abstract

With the recent increase in women's representation in the military, baseline physical measurement data are needed to help set appropriate accession and retention standards and to design useful prevention and intervention programs in the areas of physical fitness and health. This study incorporated several body composition indices to obtain anthropometric data for a representative sample of 1,292 active duty Navy and Marine Corps women and men. It also assessed the extent to which personnel met weight-for-height and body fat standards. The prevalence of overweight was considerably lower among Marine Corps women compared with Navy women and was slightly less for Marine Corps men compared with their Navy counterparts. Between one-fifth and one-third of military personnel exceeded Navy/Marine Corps weight-for-height standards. Navy women tended to meet weight standards more often than Navy men. Fewer Marine Corps women than men were overweight, but more exceeded their weight-for-height standards.