This study evaluated changes in the physical activity, fitness and body composition of 103 police officers during a 15-year follow-up. The absolute aerobic capacity was similar in 1981 and 1996, muscular performance had declined, and body weight had increased approximately 0.5 kg/year. More than half the subjects (53%) had increased their leisure-time physical activity in 1996. The correlation was significant between physical activity in 1981 and physical fitness in 1996, but weak between physical activity in 1996 and fitness in 1996. It was also significant between waist circumference and waist/hip ratio in 1996 and physical activity during the previous 5 and 15 years. No significant correlations were found between physical activity and work ability or perceived physical or mental job stress. The physical fitness of middle-aged police officers seems to be predicted strongly by physical activity in early adulthood. Therefore health and fitness promotion measures should start at that time. This, together with regular systematic training, should help to sustain work ability of middle-aged police officers.

No abstract

The study failed to provide support for the use of muscle performance tests in work-related fitness evaluations in middle-aged men employed in physical jobs.

In the 5‐year‐period 1988‐1992, 6096 children aged 6‐17 (54.5% boys and 45.5% girls) were treated at the Emergency Department at Esbjerg Central Hospital after having sustained a sports injury. The data were registred according to the European Home‐ and Leisure‐Accident Surveillance System (EHLASS) protocol. We found a total incidence rate in the municipality of Esbjerg of 73.3 per 1000 per year. Boys were most often injured in soccer, skateboard, handball, gymnastics and basketball, and girls in handball, horseriding, gymnastics, basketball and roller‐skating. The types of injuries were contusions 37.1%, fractures 22.0%, sprains 24.8%, wounds 9.5%, strains 5.0% and luxations 1.4%. The hospitalization rate was 3.8%. Compared to other studies the total incidence rate was high.

Objectives: In Finland, testing cardiorespiratory fitness (VO 2 max) is popular in health promotion programs and work ability evaluations. The most common instruments used for this purpose are the submaximal cycle ergometer test, and the 2-km walking test. However, limited data exist on the associations between VO 2 max and wellbeing in working age adults. The aim of the study was to evaluate how the measured (cycle ergometer) and the estimated (walking test) VO 2 max and walking performance are associated with health-related quality of life and work ability. Materials and Methods: The subjects were 104 middle-aged men workers (45-55 years old), mostly from the construction and manufacturing industries. VO 2 max was directly measured by a maximal exercise test on a cycle ergometer. The 2-km walking test parameters were the walking time, predicted VO 2 max, and fitness index. Health-related quality of life was assessed with the RAND-36 questionnaire which was further divided into physical dimensions (P-RAND-36) and mental dimensions (M-RAND-36). Perceived work ability was assessed with the work ability index (WAI) in a subgroup of 51 subjects. Results: The 2-km walking test parameters significantly predicted the score on P-RAND-36 (r 2 = 0.18, p = 0.001), and correlated significantly with WAI. The directly measured VO 2 max was not associated with P-RAND-36, M-RAND-36 or WAI. Conclusions: The inexpensive 2-km walking test may be more useful when evaluating the quality of life and work ability, compared to the more expensive direct measurement of one's cardiorespiratory fitness in a laboratory.