Analysis of physical fitness tests and the body composition of the military personnel

Abstract

The Body composition is related to higher physical performance and a lower risk of health problems, it connects to external and internal factors. Military activities are characterized with a high physical load and a psychological load, physical fitness and the body composition have an adverse effect on military performance. The primary purpose of the body composition and physical fitness is related to the selection of individuals the best suited to the demands of military service [2,10]. The proper body mass supports good health capacity [11,13]. The maintenance of body composition and appropriate physical fitness standards by the military personnel is affected by the intrinsic factors such as the individual’s genetic factors, development history, social background, and extrinsic factors, environmental changes and institutional, systemic changes. The effects of the excess body mass are widespread, raise the variety of concerns relevant to the health and performance of the military personnel [1,3,4,5]. The diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and heart disease increased with the obesity [6,7,9,12]. The individuals with overweight have more medical complication than the individuals with the standard body mass. The higher body mass index was associated with higher morbidity and mortality [8]. We have classified individuals according to the age into subgroups and provided the evaluation of the body composition on the basis of the main anthropometric characteristics as well the analysis of the standard physical fitness tests results. The analysis of the average value of the body mass and the Body Mass Index have shown large individual changes inside the subgroups and between the subgroups. The assessment of the results of physical fitness tests is provided differentially according to the individual corresponding age subgroup. The analysis of the respondent data reveals the overweight and obesity problem that became actual with the increasing the age of individuals. Physical fitness tests results have shown that the excellent physical fitness evaluation is received by about 33–44% of the military personnel that reflects a high unit of operational readiness.