[Aerobic fitness in police officers]

According to act n. 626, individual assessment of fitness and absence of contraindications for carrying on a job is fundamental. We considered a group of 44 Urban Police officers (36 males, 8 females), age 39.7 +/- 9.1, whose principal job requirement is a good energetic and motor availability, for a fitness evaluation through a submaximal treadmill test, with subsequent steps of 6 minutes. During the test, physiological variables (VO2, VE, QR through a metabograph, Hr trough an Ec-monitor and Pa through a manual sphygmomanometer) and subjective evaluations of fatigue and dyspnea were monitored. Studying the individual variables trend it was possible to identify the critical metabolic level that was easily tolerated by each individual. This level, an average of 6.8 MET corresponding to a heavy activity, is an endurance predictor and can be utilized in subsequent controls.