Skeletal Muscle Mass and Fat Mass Relationships With Physical Fitness Test Performance in Law Enforcement Recruits Before Academy

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze relationships between skeletal muscle mass percentage (SMM%) and fat mass percentage (FM%) relative to fitness test performance in law enforcement recruits. Retrospective analysis was conducted on 338 recruits (271 males, 67 females) from four academy classes. SMM% and FM% were measured using cost-effective and practical bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) equipment that used hand and foot placement. The fitness tests included: grip strength; vertical jump; 75-yard pursuit run; 2-kg medicine ball throw (MBT); push-ups and sit-ups completed in 60 s; and the 20-m multistage fitness test. Partial correlations controlling for sex derived relationships between SMM%, FM%, and the tests. Recruits were split into quartile groups for SMM% and FM% (Group 1 had the lowest SMM% or highest FM%; Group 4 the highest SMM% or lowest FM%). A one-way MANOVA, with sex as a covariate and Bonferroni post hoc, compared between-group results. SMM% correlated with all fitness tests expect for MBT; FM% with all but grip strength and MBT (r = ±0.107-0.293). Greater SMM% or lesser FM% tended to relate to better fitness test performance. The MANOVA data indicated Groups 3 and 4 (better SMM% or FM% profiles) exhibited superior fitness than Group 1 (poorest SMM% or FM% profile) (p ≤ 0.048). Recruits should ideally increase SMM% and decrease FM% before academy to optimize fitness training and testing performance, although specific guidelines should be agency-specific. Staff could use BIA to monitor body composition during academy to indicate how recruits are tolerating training.

How Does Time Spent Working in Custody Influence Health and Fitness Characteristics of Law Enforcement Officers?

“…Body mass and FM% were recorded by electronic digital scales (Model HBF-510, Omron Healthcare, Kyoto, Japan), which included bioelectrical impedance analysis. The equipment used in this study has been found to be reliable (intraclass correlation coefficient ≥0.95-0.99) in men and women [39,40], and has been previously used in law enforcement populations [41]. Manufacturer guidelines were followed to record FM% [39], and the procedures used were also reported by Lockie et al [41].…”

“…The equipment used in this study has been found to be reliable (intraclass correlation coefficient ≥0.95-0.99) in men and women [39,40], and has been previously used in law enforcement populations [41]. Manufacturer guidelines were followed to record FM% [39], and the procedures used were also reported by Lockie et al [41]. The age, height in cm, and sex of the LEO were entered into the device, and the LEO wore no shoes or socks.…”

“…Grip strength provided a measure of upper-body strength [45] and was measured by a hand grip dynamometer (Takei Scientific Instruments, Niigata, Japan). Further, grip strength has been used in a number of different law enforcement studies [14,20,41,44,46,47]. LEOs kept their testing arm by their side when standing throughout the assessment and squeezed the handle as hard as possible for approximately 2 s [14,20,44].…”

Health and fitness data for police officers within a health and wellness program: Implications for occupational performance and career longevity

“…Body mass and BF% were recorded by a bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) device (Tanita Corporation, Tokyo, Japan). Previous police research has utilised BIA in body composition analyses [33]. Protocol guidelines provided by the manufacturer were used to record body mass via BIA [33,34].…”

“…Previous police research has utilised BIA in body composition analyses [33]. Protocol guidelines provided by the manufacturer were used to record body mass via BIA [33,34]. The device used foot-to-foot measures, and the officer stood barefoot on the footplates.…”