Body composition and physiological characteristics of law enforcement officers.

The physical work capacity, body composition, and physiological characteristics of 12 law enforcement officers (9 males, 3 females) were measured. Subjects included a representative sample from the occupational categories of detective, staff, investigative and patrol officer. Mean maximal oxygen uptake of the men was 42.1 +/- 8.9 ml.kg-1min-1 with mean values of 41.5 +/- 8.7 ml.kg-1min-1 for the women. Measurement of body composition indicated an average of 24.4 +/- 7.1% body fat for the men and 30.9 +/- 1.2% for the women. Muscular power, strength, and endurance as measured by isolated limb flexion-extension movement and fitness test performance was considered average with no excessive bilateral differences. The results of this study were compared with other investigations of law enforcement officers of similar age groups. The officers displayed average or above health and physical fitness scores for their age classification and were able to complete all police task-oriented tests.