Does Exercise Performance Differ Among Male Law Enforcement Officers Based on Their Body Mass Index Category?

To assess differences in exercise performance among law enforcement officers (LEOs) based on body mass index (BMI).

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/m²), "overweight" (25.0-29.9 kg/m²), and "obese" (≥30.0 kg/m²). Tests for push-ups, sit-ups, estimated VO₂max, 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 (ηH²) for the Kruskal-Wallis H test results.

Differences were noted across BMI groups for the push-ups (p < 0.001, ηH² = 0.101), sit-ups (p < 0.001, ηH² = 0.187), VO₂max (p < 0.001, ηH² = 0.145), VJ (p < 0.001, ηH² = 0.137), and PAPw (p < 0.001, ηH² = 0.504). The pairwise comparisons revealed differences between each group, with the obese and overweight groups exhibiting a lower VJ, VO₂max, and performance in push-ups and sit-ups while having a higher PAPw than the healthy group, even after adjusting for age.

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.