Waist Circumference and Waist-to-Hip Ratio in Law Enforcement Agency Recruits: Relationship to Performance in Physical Fitness Tests

Abstract

Law enforcement agencies (LEAs) employ tests to assess recruit physical fitness. Body fat can influence test performance but is difficult to measure during academy due to time, equipment constraints, and instructor knowledge. This study examined relationships between waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), practical measures of fat distribution, and fitness test performance. Retrospective analysis of 267 LEA recruits (age: ~28 years; height: ~1.73 m; body mass: ~80 kg; 219 males, 48 females), was conducted. The tests included: WC and WHR; grip strength; push-ups, sit-ups, and arm ergometer revolutions in 60 s; vertical jump (VJ); medicine ball throw; 75-yard pursuit run (75PR); and multi-stage fitness test (MSFT) shuttles. Partial correlations, controlling for sex, calculated relationships between WC, WHR, and the fitness tests. Recruits were split into quartile groups (based on the sample size) for WC and WHR (Group 1 had the lowest WC and WHR; Group 4 the highest). A one-way MANOVA, with sex as a covariate and Bonferroni post hoc, compared between-group test performance. A greater WC related to lesser push-up, sit-up, VJ, 75PR, and MSFT performance (p ≤ 0.024). When recruits were split into WC groups, Group 4 had lesser performance in push-ups, sit-ups, VJ, and the 75PR compared to all groups (p ≤ 0.038). When split into WHR groups, Group 4 performed less pushups than Group 1, less MSFT shuttles than Group 3, and had a lower VJ compared to all groups (p ≤ 0.042). Recruits with a greater WC tended to have poorer fitness test performance.

The Association between Physical Fitness Performance and Abdominal Obesity Risk among Taiwanese Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Table 2 indicates that the non-abdominally obese group had significantly higher results for all physical fitness tests among both men and women. These results are generally consistent with those of previous studies [8,[10][11][12][13]. Table 3 presents the odds ratios (ORs) of each physical fitness measurement in relation to abdominal obesity after adjustment for potential confounders.…”

“…Future studies should be conducted on participants of different ages, different races, and different cultures (lifestyles). Second, although WC has been reported to be a reliable indicator for abdominal obesity [7][8][9][11][12][13][14], the discrimination between abdominal obesity and general obesity cannot be guaranteed. It is also limiting to use these measurements to predict subcutaneous and visceral fat in terms of fitness-abdominal associations.…”

“…For example, numerous studies have indicated that people with higher maximal oxygen uptake usually have better WCs [8,[10][11][12]. Recently, Lockie and colleagues [13] highlighted the negative relationships between physical fitness and WC. A greater WC is related to lower performance in push-ups, sit-ups, vertical jumps, the 75-yard pursuit run, and the multistage fitness test (MSFT).…”

The effects of aerobic fitness on day one physical training session completion in law enforcement recruits

“…Although conducting testing outdoors is not ideal, these procedures were typical for this LEA. 11,13…”

Correlation of Lower Limb Strength, Power, Waist-Hip Ratio and Bmi With a Sitting-Rising Test in 18-35 Years Age Group

“…Increased mechanical load, as well as fat distribution, reflected by an increase in waist-hip ratio, have an effect on strength parameters [24]. Greater waist circumference tended to have poorer fitness test performance (Lockie RG et al) [25]. A study by L Otten et al (2016) stated that increase in WHR is associated with increased knee extension strength in women but not men whereas there was no correlation of WHR with handgrip strength [24].…”