Physical performance and body composition reference values for modern US Marine Corps women

Area of Science:

• Military science
• Human performance
• Body composition analysis

Background:

• Women's roles in the US military have evolved, with recent policy changes allowing them into combat roles.
• This shift necessitates understanding the physical capabilities and body composition of women in combat specialties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the body composition and physical performance values of modern US Marine Corps women.
• To identify correlations between body composition and physical performance metrics.

Main Methods:

• An observational, cross-sectional study involving 736 female US Marine Corps volunteers.
• Body composition assessed via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and bioelectrical impedance analysis.
• Physical performance evaluated using official Physical Fitness Test (PFT) and Combat Fitness Test (CFT) scores, and countermovement jump (CMJ) data.

Main Results:

• Mean body composition: 47.5±5.7 kg fat-free mass, 30.1%±6.4% body fat, 25.5±2.8 kg/m² BMI.
• Key performance metrics: 43.4±3.2 mL·kg·min VO2max, 22.4±7.1 cm CMJ height, 2575±565.2 W CMJ peak power.
• Strong correlations found between PFT and VO2max (r=0.75); moderate correlations between CFT and VO2max (r=0.57), CFT and PFT (r=0.60), fat-free mass and CMJ peak power (r=0.68).

Conclusions:

• Modern women in the Marine Corps exhibit lean physiques and high levels of physical performance.
• Body composition alone is a limited predictor of overall physical performance in this population.