Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To assess differences in exercise performance among law enforcement officers (LEOs) based on body mass index (BMI). METHODS: Five hundred and thirty-two male LEOs (n = 532; age 38.9 ± 7.4 yrs; height: 180.1 ± 6.9 cm; body mass: 92.1 ± 15.1 kg) were analyzed. The LEOs were stratified into three BMI groups: "healthy" (18.5-24.9 kg/m(2)), "overweight" (25.0-29.9 kg/m(2)), and "obese" (≥30.0 kg/m(2)). Tests for push-ups, sit-ups, estimated VO(2)max, vertical jump (VJ), and peak anaerobic power output (PAPw) were conducted. Non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis H and Quade's rank-based ANCOVA with age as a covariate test were used to evaluate differences in exercise performance between BMI groups. Mann-Whitney U tests with Bonferroni post hoc corrections were used for pairwise comparisons. Effect sizes were calculated as rank eta squared (ηH(2)) for the Kruskal-Wallis H test results. RESULTS: Differences were noted across BMI groups for the push-ups (p < 0.001, ηH(2) = 0.101), sit-ups (p < 0.001, ηH(2) = 0.187), VO(2)max (p < 0.001, ηH(2) = 0.145), VJ (p < 0.001, ηH(2) = 0.137), and PAPw (p < 0.001, ηH(2) = 0.504). The pairwise comparisons revealed differences between each group, with the obese and overweight groups exhibiting a lower VJ, VO(2)max, and performance in push-ups and sit-ups while having a higher PAPw than the healthy group, even after adjusting for age. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate that a higher BMI is associated with poorer exercise performance, except for PAPw, and highlight the importance of maintaining a healthy BMI in LEOs.