Changes in male exercise performance and anthropometric variables between the ages of 19 and 30

In order to study possible changes in Swedish men between the approximate ages of 19 and 30, 55 men from the Stockholm area were re-examined 11 years after examinations made in connection with compulsory military duty. The most pronounced finding was a 11% increase in body weight accompanied by a 19% increase in waist circumference and a 25-41% increase in skinfold thickness. A 5% increase in work output at heart rate 170 (W170) was observed but the ratio W170/weight decreased by 5%. The observed changes were even more pronounced in a subgroup who had a low exercise level in their spare time at the age of 19 as well as 30. Growth was not quite completed at the age of 19. Of the increase in height amounting to 1.3 cm, 70% was due to growth in tibial length.